½ cup chopped pecans
1 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar, divided
8 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract
⅔ cup Kentucky bourbon
3 cups flour
Powdered sugar for garnish
1½ quarts strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise for garnish
1 quart blueberries, rinsed for garnish
Mint sprigs for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Sprinkle chopped pecans in bottom of pan.
Beat butter until smooth. Gradually beat in 2 cups sugar. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine vanilla, almond extract and bourbon in small bowl. Alternately beat in one-third of flour and bourbon mixture into butter mixture. Continue until all flour and liquid added.
Beat egg whites in separate bowl on high speed until soft peaks form. Reduce speed and gradually add remaining 1 cup granulated sugar. Fold whites into cake batter in three additions. Spoon batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake cake on center shelf until wood pick inserted into center comes out clean, 1¼ to 1½ hours. Remove pan from oven and set on wire rack to cool completely. Run knife around edge of pan.
To serve, arrange cake, bottom side up, on serving platter and dust lightly with powdered sugar. Garnish with strawberries and blueberries and several sprigs of mint.
Makes 12 servings
Bonnie Iapoce, Royal Member
Santa Fe Wild Flowers
Santa Fe, New Mexico