Pecan Crunch Buttercream

I made this cake for my grandma's birthday. It is the Chocolate Butter Cake topped with Pecan Crunch Buttercream. Both recipes are from Cake Love by Warren Brown. People seemed to really love this buttercream. It's natural flavor and color comes from real pecans.

Milk Mixture:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 ounces (1 cup) unsalted pecan halves
• 7 ounces (3/4 cup + 2 T.) extra-fine granulated sugar

Yolk Mixture:

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) extra-fine granulated sugar
• 3 T. potato starch
• ¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Flavorings and Butter:

• 3 ounces (1/4 cup) muscavado or dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 T. honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

2 ounces (1/4 cup) extra-fine granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Separate the yolks into a large bowl. Add the 2 ounces of sugar and the potato starch and whisk to combine. Add the 2 ounces of butter, but do not stir in. Set aside.

Measure the milk mixture ingredients into a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let the pecans steep for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, strain the pecans and capture the flavored milk in a large bowl. Set pecans aside.

Return the milk mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Once it reaches a simmer, slowly pour it into the yolk mixture, whisking slowly in small circles at first and ending with broader strokes until fully combined (it may be helpful to put a damp towel underneath the bowl or to have someone hold it to prevent it from sliding while you stir). Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly but not rapidly, for about 4 minutes (high altitude: 3 minutes). The key is to keep the pastry cream moving so it won't scorch on the bottom of the saucepan. When you begin to see lava bubbles—large, slowly forming bubble that burp steam—reduce the heat to the lowest setting and whisk briskly for 1 minute to pasteurize the pastry cream.

Pour the pastry cream into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire ship attachment. Add the muscovado, honey, and vanilla extract. Whip the pastry cream on high speed until it's cooled to room temperature, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Whip on medium speed until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the drained pecans with ¼ cup sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Place on an ungreased cooking sheet. Toast for 5 to 10 minutes (high altitude: about 15 minutes). Be careful not to burn.

Let the pecans (pralines) cool completely; then break into chunks. Add them to the buttercream and mix on low speed until the nuts are fully incorporated. (You can also save some of pralines to decorate the top of the cake.)

Note: This frosting is called BUTTERcream for a reason—it has lots of butter. The butter makes it thicker, but you can get away with adding less butter. I recommend experimenting with it to see what you like best, as far as consistency and flavor. I think you could get away with adding 3 sticks of butter instead of 4 (maybe even less).