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Butter Pecan Cake

This butter pecan cake has an incredibly soft and moist texture that simply melts in your mouth! It's studded with chopped pecans throughout and cloaked in an irresistible brown sugar frosting. Recipe includes a how-to video!

Prep Time
45 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 975 kcal
Course: Dessert , Cake
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Cake
  • 1 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 3 3 cups cake flour
  • 1 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
  • 1 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ 1 ½ cups buttermilk room temperature preferred
  • 2 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
  • 1 ½ 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ 1 ½ cups pecan halves very finely chopped (see note)
Icing
  • 1 ½ 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
  • 6 6 oz cream cheese softened
  • ⅓ ⅓ cup light brown sugar firmly packed
  • 1 ½ 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 ½ 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
  • ⅓ ⅓ cup pecan halves very finely chopped, optional

Instructions

Brown the Butter
    Cup of Yum
  1. Place butter in a medium-sized pan and cook over medium/low heat until butter is melted. Increase heat to just above medium and cook, stirring frequently. Butter will foam, crackle, pop and sizzle. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan, until you see golden brown specks. Remove from heat and pour into a heatproof bowl. Allow butter to cool completely (it should still be liquid, but should no longer be warm to the touch) before proceeding.
Make the Cake
  1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease 3 8” round baking pans with baking spray. Line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper to ensure the cakes won’t stick.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. Add browned butter and use an electric mixer to stir on low-speed until thoroughly incorporated.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla, then slowly drizzle into the flour mixture. Pause halfway through and at the end to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl (it’s alright if you notice small lumps in the batter).
  5. Stir in pecans until well incorporated.
  6. Evenly divide batter into prepared baking sheets and bake in center rack of 350F oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
  7. Allow cakes to cool in their pans for 15 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan then carefully invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Cakes must be completely cooled before decorating.
Brown Sugar Frosting
  1. Combine butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until smooth and creamy.
  2. With mixer on low-speed, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined (pause periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula).
  3. Add heavy cream and beat on high speed for 30 seconds, until frosting is smooth and silky.
Decorating Cake
  1. Level cakes if needed and decorate with frosting. I did a smooth, light covering for the sides of the cake with thicker frosting in between layers and on top of the cake. To decorate the top, I recommend using an Ateco 846 or Ateco 848 tip. If you’d like, finely chop another ⅓ cup of pecans and layer them over the top of the cake (don’t go all the way to the edge) before adding the frosting swirls around the edge.

Notes

  • Measure pecans before chopping. To get my pecans very fine, I toss them in the food processor and pulse until they are fine. Do not pulse too far, or you’ll turn them into nut butter!
  • If you only have two round pans, bake your first two layers and leave the remaining batter covered in the mixing bowl. Allow the cake pan to cool before adding the remaining batter and cooking your final layer.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to a week. This cake may also be wrapped tightly and frozen

Nutrition Information

Serving 1serving Calories 975kcal (49%) Carbohydrates 113g (38%) Protein 8g (16%) Fat 57g (88%) Saturated Fat 29g (145%) Polyunsaturated Fat 5g Monounsaturated Fat 18g Trans Fat 2g Cholesterol 148mg (49%) Sodium 415mg (17%) Potassium 210mg (6%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 87g (174%) Vitamin A 1489IU (30%) Vitamin C 0.2mg (0%) Calcium 126mg (13%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 12servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 975

% Daily Value*

Serving 1serving
Calories 975kcal 49%
Carbohydrates 113g 38%
Protein 8g 16%
Fat 57g 88%
Saturated Fat 29g 145%
Polyunsaturated Fat 5g 29%
Monounsaturated Fat 18g 90%
Trans Fat 2g 100%
Cholesterol 148mg 49%
Sodium 415mg 17%
Potassium 210mg 4%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 87g 174%
Vitamin A 1489IU 30%
Vitamin C 0.2mg 0%
Calcium 126mg 13%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.