The Cupcake Café Cookbook is a gem for everyone who loves doughnuts, originally decorated cakes, or off-beat New York City eateries. The actual café is a funky daytime oasis in the still-iffy neighborhood once known as Hell's Kitchen. Ann Warren and her husband, Michael, started the café as a bakery in 1988. They now serve food, too, but their fame comes from the breakfast baked goods and Warren's strikingly creative butter cream-frosted cakes and cupcakes
Grease an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt. Add the ground pecans and mix well. Cream the butter and sugars and add the egg yolks, milk, coffee, and vanilla.
Beat the egg whites till stiff but not dry. Add the flour and pecans to the wet ingredients. When just combined, fold in the egg whites.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until done. (Insert a straw or cake tester into the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean, it's done, or if loaf has a springy feel when you press on it.)
Allow to cool slightly, then glaze with Lemon Glaze.
Combine the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 10 to 15 minutes, until transparent. Test to see if the syrup forms a "string" when dropped from a spoon. When it does, take it off the heat and spoon it over the slightly cooled pecan harvest loaf.
