"I won first place with this cake at the Cuyahoga County Fair (Cleveland, Ohio) in 1993. For a nuttier variation, you can substitute 1 cup of the flour with 1 cup of ground pecans."
1Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt or tube pan. Sprinkle pecans on bottom of pan; set aside. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl; set aside.
2In a large bowl, cream butter and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream. Pour batter over pecans in prepared pan.
3Bake in the preheated oven for 75 to 90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4To prepare the glaze: In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, orange juice and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Drizzle over cake while still warm.
Footnotes
Tip
Aluminum foil helps keep food moist, ensures it cooks evenly, keeps leftovers fresh, and makes clean-up easy.