Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 1/2 cups pecans
Earth Balance, in pats

Cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 8 oz. container plain soy yogurt
1 1/2 cups soy (egg) nog
1/4 cup hazelnut soy creamer
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour pan. Add topping ingredients to bottom of pan.*Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

*Whisk oil, sugars, yogurt, soy nog, creamer, and extracts. Add dry to wet. Beat with electric mixer on medium. Add to prepared pan. Bake 40-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

*Let rest in pan 2 minutes. Flip onto serving plate.

Disclaimer: I was trying to make the cake healthier by not putting a bunch of earth balance at the bottom of the pan (see topping description above), so I only used 2 teaspoons. Um, it’s not enough! The topping stuck to the pan. As a remedy, I made a soy nog glaze (see below) and poured it over the cake, which was yummy, so all’s well that ends well. Next time I’ll probably use about 1/4 cup of earth balance for the topping, distributed evenly in pats. (And of course, I’ll update the post…).

Soy Nog Glaze

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon earth balance
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/4 cup soy nog

*Stir over medium low heat until sugar is dissolved and glaze thickens. Pour over cake.