Brown sugar cake layers – 3 cups all-purpose flour – 1/2 teaspoon baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon salt – 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature – 1 cup light brown sugar – 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar – 4 large eggs room temperature – 1 tablespoon vanilla extract – 1 1/4 cups whole milk

Buttercream pecan frosting – 2/3 cup unsalted butter – 6 cups powdered sugar – 1/2 cup heavy cream or milk – 1 tablespoon vanilla extract – 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt – 1 cup pecans finely ground – 1 cup chopped pecans

Brown sugar cake layers – Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray three 9″ round cake pans with flour-based cooking spray. – Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. – In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix well with each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until well-blended.

– Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Add in all the milk; mix well. Add remaining flour mixture and combine until just incorporated. Using a large rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl and fold together by hand so that all ingredients are well incorporated. – Divide batter evenly into the prepared pans, slightly more than 2 cups of batter per pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Cool the 

cakes in the pan 7-10 minutes. Turn layers out of pans to rest a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Butter Pecan Frosting – In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Drizzle in a little heavy cream. Gradually add remaining powdered sugar alternating with the heavy cream. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula so that all ingredients are well incorporated. Add vanilla and salt; beat well. Beat in the 1 cup of finely ground pecans.

– Fill cakes with the frosting and stack; coat the outside of the cake with a thin crumb coat of frosting. Refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes.  Cover the outside of the cake with swirls of frosting. Press chopped pecans onto the bottom edge of the cake. Transfer leftover frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. Pipe stars around the top edge of the cake. Immediately sprinkle chopped pecans over the stars.

For the horseshoe cake, bake the cake batter in a 13×9 inch pan for about 50 minutes. Tent the top of the cake if it begins to overbrown. Lay a piece of parchment paper flat on a work surface.  Lay the bottom of a 13×9 inch pan on the parchment and trace around it. Cut out the shape. Draw a horseshoe within the shape and cut it out to use as a template. Lay the template on the baked, cooled cake and tack down onto the cake with toothpicks. Carve around the 

cake using a serrated knife. Save cake scraps for cake pops, trifles, or snacking.