Bourbon Brown Butter Cake

steps

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat a 9-inch loaf pan with baker’s spray. Run a piece of parchment paper over the bottom of the pan and up the two long sides, leaving some extra to use when it’s time to lift the cake out of the pan. Alternatively, you can butter the pan, dust the interior with flour, tap out the excess and line it with paper. Put the chunks of butter in a small saucepan and set the pan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, allow it to keep bubbling away until it turns a deep golden brown. At this point, you might have a few dark butter dots at the bottom of the pan, and for sure you’ll catch a whiff of nuts —  both are lovely characteristics of brown butter. Remove the pan from the heat.
2. Mound the pecans on the lined baking sheet and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the brown butter over them. Toss to coat the nuts, then sprinkle over the pinch of salt and pinch of cinnamon and toss again. Spread the nuts out. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes— keep an eye on the nuts and shake or stir them around after 5 minutes — or until they are just toasted. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder and the remaining ½ teaspoon each salt and cinnamon together.
4. Working in a large bowl, whisk the eggs and both sugars together for 2 to 3 minutes, or until thoroughly blended. Pour the cream into the bowl in a steady stream, whisking as you go, and when it’s in and the batter is smooth, whisk in the vanilla and bourbon. Add half of the dry ingredients to the bowl, switch to a flexible spatula and gently stir until they have almost disappeared into the batter. Add the remainder of the dry ingredients and stir until they’re just about incorporated. Gradually pour in the browned butter, stirring and making sure to get to the bottom of the bowl with every few strokes — butter has a way of hiding out there. I like a motion that’s halfway between stirring and folding when I’m working to get this much butter into a mixture. When all the butter is incorporated and you’ve got a smooth, satiny batter, stir in the toasted pecans. Scrape the batter into the pan and level it.
5. Bake the cake for 58 to 63 minutes, but take a look at it around the 40-minute mark — if it looks as though it’s getting too dark too fast (this cake bakes dark), tent it loosely with parchment or foil. The cake is done when it’s risen and the top is cracked (it can crack quite dramatically, and that’s nice), it’s firm to the touch and you can tug it gently from the sides of the pan. Most important, a tester inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and wait for 5 minutes, then use the parchment handles to help you lift the cake out of the pan onto the rack. Peel away the paper and turn the cake right side up on the rack to cool to room temperature.

   Storing: Wrapped, the cake will keep at room temperature for at least 3 days, and it can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw in the wrapper. If the cake seems a little dry, toast slices, butter them and smile.