with your wine

Texas pecan cake

Pecans, though popular in Texas and the South, aren’t as well-known in the rest of the world. This knockoff of a Spanish-style almond cake shows just how versatile pecans can be.

GROCERY LIST

2 eggs

1 c sugar

1/3 c oil

1/2 c milk

3/4 c flour

Directions

1/4 c ground pecans

3/4 tsp baking powder

3 Tbsp pecan pieces powdered sugar for garnishing

Ask the wine guy

Why does sparkling wine have bubbles?

1. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in sugar and oil, and then add milk, flour, ground pecans, and baking powder. Mix well.

2. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle pecan pieces on top. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Garnish with powdered sugar. Makes one 9-inch cake; takes 45 minutes to an hour.

It’s from carbonation, just like soft drinks — though the process is much more complicated with champagne-style wines and involves two rounds of fermentation, as opposed to one for still wine. The second round produces the bubbles.

—Jeff Siegel

ASK THE WINE GUY taste@advocatemag.com