Orange Pecan Cake with Kyya Joy Creme Anglais

This cake is bold with an abundance of orange that is deepened with pecans and contrasted with silky crème anglaise with hints of cinnamon, vanilla, and honey. It’s a perfect flavor match to savor with a cup of tea or coffee.

I recently had a kitchen tour (link to previous post) of Kyya Chocolate. While I knew I would meet the owner, I didn’t expect a tour much less an abundance of tastes that I still dream about. They’re a chocolate shop, but they also have copious amounts of flavored syrups and I took home the namesake, Kyya Joy.

Kyya Joy has cinnamon at the forefront that is backed by vanilla and honey. The flavor balance is absolute perfection. 

For the cake, I found inspiration from Ottolenghi’s Clementine and Almond Syrup Cake in Jerusalem which has an optional Chocolate Icing. I think the chocolate makes the cake too rich so I decided to go with a crème anglaise to lighten the flavor profile. Pecans are a nod to Arkansas, home to Kyya Chocolate. Pecans are native to Arkansas and happens to be the state nut.

Crème anglaise is essentially a custard sauce. I’ve always described it as a loose custard but google told me loose custard is undesirable as that it’s a custard that has gone wrong. This crème anglaise is based on the custard in my stuffed apples which was an 18th century American gentry favorite. When you have a really good base recipe, you can always tweak it for different variations.

Orange Pecan Cake Ingredients
10 oz raw, unsalted pecans
14 T butter, room temperature
1 ½ c sugar
1 Tbl orange zest
1 ¼ tsp lemon zest
5 large eggs
1 Tbl vanilla
¼ tsp salt
¾ c all-purpose flour
½ c of chopped, salted, and roasted pecans for garnish

Orange Syrup
⅓ c sugar
3 Tbl lemon juice
5 Tbl orange juice

Orange Pecan Cake Directions
Preheat the oven to 350.

Put parchment in the bottom of a 9” spring form pan. Grease the parchment and the sides of the pan.

Put 10 oz of pecans in a food processor. Pulse until the pecans are fine like a coarse flour, but not gummy. If you’re unsure if it’s fine enough, stop because you don’t want pecan butter. If your food processor is on the smaller side, do it in two batches or you’ll risk uneven grinding.

Add 14 T butter cut into 1 Tbl pieces to a large mixing bowl. Beat the butter until it is slightly whipped. Add ½ c sugar, 1 Tbl orange zest, and 1 ¼ tsp lemon zest. Beat until the sugar is incorporated.

Add ½ of the pecans and mix until combined.

Whisk together 5 eggs, 1 Tbl vanilla, and ¼ tsp salt until the egg yolks and egg whites are homogeneous. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the butter mixture while the beater is running. You’ll think it’s all going wrong, but it will come together.

Mix ¾ c flour to the remaining ground pecans. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture at a time to the wet ingredients with the mixer on medium low speed. Mix until the batter is smooth. It will be fairly dense.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Turn the pan and bake about an additional 15 minutes. 

Make the orange syrup after you turn the cake in the oven. Put ⅓ c sugar, 3 Tbl lemon juice, and 5 Tbl orange juice in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil and remove it from the heat.

When the cake is done, the top will be set, a little darker than it started, and an inserted toothpick will come out clean or with the smallest of crumbs. The edges of the cake will still be connected to the edge of the pan.

Immediately after pulling the cake out of the oven, pour the warm syrup slowly and evenly over the cake. Let it cool to room temperature before removing it from the pan.

Kyya Joy Crème Anglaise Ingredients
4 large eggs
1 c heavy whipping cream
¼ c Kyya Joy syrup
1 tsp vanilla
⅛ tsp salt

Kyya Joy Crème Anglaise Directions
Add about 3” of water to a saucepan and bring it to a simmer (just below a boil).

Separate 4 eggs. I crack the eggs then open it a smidge to let the whites fall through the opening. Put the whites in one bowl. Put the yolks into a medium glass or stainless steel bowl.

Add 1 c heavy whipping cream, ¼ c Kyya Joy syrup, 1 tsp vanilla, and ⅛ tsp salt to the egg yolks. Set the bowl on top of the simmering water and whisk until it’s fully incorporated. Give it a quick stir every few minutes. 

To know when it’s done, dip a serving spoon into the custard. It should coat the spoon. Run your finger through the custard then turn the spoon parallel to your line. The line should run down a little. Remove it from the heat and cover the custard with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the entire surface of the custard. The plastic will prevent a film from forming.

Allow it to come to room temperature.

To Serve
Spoon crème anglaise on the bottom of a saucer. Add a small piece of cake on top. The cake is rich so cut the pieces appropriately. You want a spoon of crème anglaise with each bite. Sprinkle roasted pecans on top.

This cake can be served warm, room temperature, or chilled.

Notes
If you can’t get your paws on Kyya Joy syrup (you can order it online), you can use ¼ c sugar and add an additional 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp cinnamon.

You can stir Kyya Joy into a glass of cold milk as a chocolate milk alternative. That’s my favorite drink so far with it. You can also stir it into coffee, tea, or unsweetened hot chocolate.