• Grease and flour a bundt cake pan or tube pan. (We used a 15 cup bundt pan with a baking capacity of 12 cups.)
• Preheat the oven to 325℉
• In a separate bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt to combine, set aside for later.
• Using an electric mixer (paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), mix the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth.
• Next, gradually add the brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy for three minutes.
• Add the eggs to the mixing bowl one at a time, blending after each until the yolk is incorporated.
• Add the vanilla extract to the ½ cup of milk.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in the mixing bowl. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. I do three additions of dry ingredients, alternating with two additions of wet.
• Gently fold/stir in the chopped pecans.
• Scoop batter into prepared bundt pan.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 5-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Baking times may vary.
• This makes approximately 9.5 cups of batter.
• Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out.

Praline Glaze

• Combine the brown sugar, butter, and milk in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat to melt the butter, stirring constantly. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes while whisking.
• Next, transfer this caramel mixture to a heatproof bowl and stir in the confections sugar, salt, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Stir in the chopped pecans. This mixture will thicken as it cools. (If it becomes too firm before you are able to use it, heat in small increments in the microwave or briefly in a saucepan until desired consistency is reached.

Decorating the Cake

• Once the cake has cooled, you can spoon the glaze over the cake, or for more control, you can spoon it into a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away. However, if your chopped pecans are fairly large, spooning it over the cake is the best option as they may be too large to pass easily through the piping bag.
• After glazing, we added pecan halves around the top as a final detail.

Storing

• This cake is fine to leave at room temperature for a couple of days in an airtight container or under a cake dome. After that, we like to move to the refrigerator for freshness. If you chill your cake, it is best to move it to the kitchen counter a couple of hours before serving. This will allow plenty of time for it to warm and soften.