Orange Cake With Triple Sec

This cake is remarkably delicious, elegant, and easy. I made it in small loaf pans and left the nuts on the bottom; it would probably be delicious with the nuts on top! This can be made using cake mix, or from scratch.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped pecans

• 1 box yellow cake mix, or replace with cake ingredients below
  

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup Triple Sec
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup water (or OJ or Triple Sec)
  
• Glaze (recipe follows)

Cake ingredients to replace cake mix:

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 t. vanilla
• 2 cups white flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 T butter

Preparation:

Sprinkle pecans over the bottom of a greased and floured 10-inch Bundt cake pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except glaze. Beat with an electric mixer on 30 seconds at low speed of an electric mixer; then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 325° for 1 hour, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack. Pierce cake all over with meat fork, skewer, or wooden pick. Spoon glaze slowly over cake, letting it sink in.

Glaze

· 1/4 cup butter (or less)

· 1/4 cup orange juice

· 1/2 granulated cup sugar (or less)

· 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

· 1/2 cup Curacao or Triple Sec

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Stir in orange juice and sugar; bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in orange zest and liqueur.