Cinnamon Nut Bundt Cakery

I've always had this nagging desire to post wonderful, colorful, photoful recipes on my blog.  Recipes like my friend Jenna, a.k.a. Hot Stuff In the Kitchen, posts.  Problem is, I'm not really much of a culinary artist, nor a persistent enough photojournalist.  I lack stamina.  But.  This one time, in the holiday spirit (eggnog), I resolved to measure, mix, and make a delicious cake with my trusty camera in hand to make it once for all known to the world that I, Carrie, can make something you might just want to eat... and the tools to make it yourself!  With the Christmas spirit still among us, cinnamon may appear a tad too often on the dessert menu, but with the Christmas spirit among us, seriously, who cares?!  This Cinnamon Nut Bundt Cake is one of my favorite cakes to bake and to eat this season (which, as far as I'm concerned, ends no earlier than January 6), and -- can you believe it?? -- it's super, super easy.  (This is very easy to believe if you know me.)  So, let's get down to business, shall we?  First, let's make sure we have everything we need in the fridge / cupboard.

Ingredients

Duncan Hines Yellow Butter Cake Mix 

     (I used Betty Crocker this time around, but I think Duncan Hines is a little better)

3/4 cup Oil

1/2 cup Sugar

1 cup Sour Cream

4 Eggs

5 T. Brown Sugar

1 T. Cinnamon

1/2 to 1 cup Pecans (Pronounced PEE-cans.  This is very important.)

A handful o' Butter

Please don't forget the cinnamon, as I did for this photo.  It's kinda important.

In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, the oil, the sugar and the sour cream.  

Add sound effects to make it a little more interesting.

Shhhhhh.

Gloop.

Mix thoroughly.

Wink at your man.  Especially if he's kind enough to take some pictures of you cooking.  

(And especially if he's planning to send them to his mother to prove you're good in the kitchen.)

Mix in the eggs, one at a time.

Stir vigorously between each egg to make sure it's mixed well.  

Be sure to grimace; it makes the "vigorously" part a little easier.

In a separate bowl, measure out the brown sugar.  Doing it in lumps helps me keep track.

Sprinkle the cinnamon in.

Mix.  I like to do this by hand to work out all the knots.  And to get my hands dirty.  

(For those eating my cake, I mean dirty in the cleanest sense.)

If your "chopped pecans" look like this, they need a bit more chopping.

This hand-held chopper is very... handy.  And choppy.

Admire your freshly chopped pecans.  Again, PEE-cans.  Very important.

Ignore begging cat.

Time to get your hands "dirty" again!
I suppose you can grease the cake pan however you like, but this is my favorite way to do it.

Be sure to cover every square millimeter of the pan with butter,
so as to prevent any chunks of cake from sticking to the pan.

I don't know why I'm smirking in this photo...
I guess I'm kinda proud of my ability to cover every bit of pan in butter. 

Now sprinkle the buttered up pan with sugar.  Again, every square millimeter, people!

Next, pour 1/3 of your batter into the bundt pan...

...followed by 1/2 of your cinnamon/brown sugar mixture...

...followed by 1/2 of your chopped pecans...

...followed by 1/3 more of the batter...

Then the rest of the cinnamon, the rest of the pecans, and the last of the batter.

Once it looks something like this ( ^ ), bake it for about an hour at 325°, till it looks something like this...

 

Let it cool a while in the pan, and thank the Lord that your camera somehow mysteriously 

reset its white balance, since that's something you haven't taken the time to figure out yet.  

{Yes, Virginia, I'm not that tan.  Heaven sakes, it's winter; gimme a break!}

When it's good and ready to come out, have no fear if it leaves a few pieces behind.  

Just lovingly return them to their rightful places.
(So much for every square millimeter!)

Finally, set your cake before your beautifully decorated Christmas tree (please tell me you haven't taken it down already!), and admire the beauty of your delicious work of art.

...yummmm...

Just don't let your admiration and picture-taking keep you from eating it.

Hope you thoroughly enjoy!!!

Here's the recipe in its condensed form: