This Butter Pecan Cake has an extremely smooth and moist texture that merely melts in your mouth! It’s studded with chopped pecans all through and cloaked in an irresistible brown sugar frosting. Recipe features a how-to video!

Southern Butter Pecan Cake
This butter pecan cake is solely unimaginable. It’s smooth, tremendous moist (it actually melts in your mouth), and the flavour is out of this world. You’ll love how simply it mixes along with the reverse creaming technique (first utilized in my caramel cake and most just lately in my peanut butter cupcakes). And don’t even get me began on the brown sugar cream cheese frosting…
The crumb of this cake is exclusive and irresistible. It’s so fluffy and lightweight, and due to the finely chopped pecans, it’s virtually a bit crumbly (however in a moist, gentle manner!). The shining flavors of browned butter and nutty pecans are completely enhanced by brown sugar and vanilla, and the whole lot is superbly tied along with the brown sugar frosting (rigorously designed to not be too candy!). It’s the very best pairing!
What you’ll love about my recipe:
- Takes simply over an hour to make.
- Gorgeous (but straightforward!) last look your company will love.
- Cozy and distinctive taste–nice for mixing up your conventional birthday cake!
- Unbelievable texture and crumb.
What You Want

Listed below are the important thing elements that make this butter pecan cake so particular:
- Cake flour. I don’t advocate utilizing all-purpose flour right here, as superb cake flour works higher for making the cake crumb gentle and additional smooth. Do be sure to measure your flour correctly!
- Brown sugar. We’ll use gentle brown sugar within the cake and the icing. Sure, we’re additionally utilizing powdered sugar within the icing, however I promise it’s not too candy! It’s really much less sugar than commonplace American buttercream.
- Buttermilk. Buttermilk retains this butter pecan cake tremendous tender and moist. For those who don’t have buttermilk available, you should use my straightforward buttermilk substitute.
- Cream cheese. Whereas there’s cream cheese on this frosting, it’s not overpowering. As a substitute, it retains the frosting from being too candy and accents the opposite flavors of the cake properly. Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese.
- Pecans. Be certain that to measure your pecans earlier than chopping them. For ease, I like to cut my pecans in a meals processor.
SAM’S TIP: I don’t toast my pecans earlier than including them (I simply don’t discover it crucial right here), however you actually can. I’ve a straightforward information on methods to toast pecans, on your reference!
Bear in mind, that is simply an outline of the elements I used and why. For the total recipe please scroll all the way down to the underside of the publish!
The way to Make Butter Pecan Cake
Browning the Butter

- Soften and cook dinner – Soften butter over medium-low warmth. Enhance the warmth and cook dinner, stirring regularly, because the butter begins to foam and sizzle.
- Let it cool – When you see brown specks forming on the underside of the pan, take away the butter from the warmth and pour right into a heatproof bowl to chill utterly.
Chopping the Pecans

- Measure your pecans and place them within the bowl of a meals processor.
- Pulse till the pecans are superb crumbs, then cease. Put aside 1 ½ cups for the cake and ⅓ cup for the ornament.
Making the Cake Batter

- Dry elements – Whisk collectively the dry elements in a big bowl.
- Add the browned butter and stir with the mixer on low pace till integrated.
- Moist elements – Mix the remaining moist elements in a separate bowl, then progressively add them to the dry elements, pausing midway by to scrape the bowl.
- Add the pecans and stir till integrated.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t stress when you see small lumps in your batter–these are completely regular!
Making the Cake Batter

- Bake – Divide the batter between greased/floured/lined pans and bake for half-hour at 350F.
- Let the muffins cool of their pans for quarter-hour earlier than inverting onto a cooling rack to chill utterly.
Making the Frosting/Prepping the Cake

- Cream the butter – Beat collectively the butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt till clean.
- Add the sugar – Steadily add the powdered sugar till mixed.
- Add the cream – Pause to scrape the bowl, then add the heavy cream.
- Whip till clean and fluffy.
Adorning

- Stage and stack your cake layers, including a thick layer of frosting in between every.
- Frost the edges and prime of the cake with a skinny layer of frosting.
- Add pecans on prime, if desired.
- Enhance the highest of the cake with piped frosting swirls.
SAM’S TIP: For those who solely have two cake pans, you’ll be able to let the remaining batter sit lined at room temperature whereas your first two layers bake. Bear in mind to let your pan cool utterly earlier than including the batter for the third layer!

Regularly Requested Questions
This cake might be made in a 9×13″ pan, however you’ll have extra batter. Fill your pan ⅔ of the best way full, then both discard the surplus batter or use it to make cupcakes.
Personally I don’t refrigerate if I plan on having fun with inside two days. If you would like your cake to last more, you’ll be able to retailer it within the fridge for as much as one week. Butter pecan cake additionally freezes nicely.

In search of extra southern-inspired recipes? Strive my candy tea or coca cola cake!
Take pleasure in!
Let’s bake collectively! I’ll be strolling you thru all of the steps in my written recipe and video under! For those who do that recipe, remember to tag me on Instagram, and you can even discover me on YouTube and Fb

Butter Pecan Cake
Servings: 12 servings
Energy: 975kcal
Stop your display screen from going darkish
Directions
Brown the Butter
-
Place butter in a medium-sized pan and cook dinner over medium/low warmth till butter is melted. Enhance warmth to simply above medium and cook dinner, stirring regularly. Butter will foam, crackle, pop and sizzle. Stir, scraping the underside of the pan, till you see golden brown specks. Take away from warmth and pour right into a heatproof bowl. Permit butter to chill utterly (it ought to nonetheless be liquid, however ought to now not be heat to the contact) earlier than continuing.
1 cup unsalted butter
Make the Cake
-
Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease 3 8” spherical baking pans with baking spray. Line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper to make sure the muffins received’t stick.
-
In a big mixing bowl, whisk collectively cake flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3 cups cake flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup gentle brown sugar
-
Add browned butter and use an electrical mixer to stir on low-speed till totally integrated.
-
In a separate bowl, whisk collectively buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla, then slowly drizzle into the flour combination. Pause midway by and on the finish to scrape the edges and backside of the bowl (it’s alright when you discover small lumps within the batter).
1 ½ cups buttermilk, 2 giant eggs, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
-
Stir in pecans till nicely integrated.
1 ½ cups pecan halves
-
Evenly divide batter into ready baking sheets and bake in middle rack of 350F oven for half-hour or till a toothpick inserted within the middle comes out clear or with moist crumbs.
-
Permit muffins to chill of their pans for quarter-hour earlier than working a knife across the fringe of the cake to loosen it from the pan then rigorously invert onto a cooling rack to chill utterly. Muffins have to be utterly cooled earlier than adorning.
Brown Sugar Frosting
-
Mix butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a big mixing bowl and use an electrical mixer to beat till clean and creamy.
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, 6 oz cream cheese, ⅓ cup gentle brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
-
With mixer on low-speed, progressively add powdered sugar till utterly mixed (pause periodically to scrape the edges and backside of the bowl with a spatula).
4 ½ cups powdered sugar
-
Add heavy cream and beat on excessive pace for 30 seconds, till frosting is clean and silky.
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Adorning Cake
-
Stage muffins if wanted and beautify with frosting. I did a clean, gentle protecting for the edges of the cake with thicker frosting in between layers and on prime of the cake. To embellish the highest, I like to recommend utilizing an Ateco 846 or Ateco 848 tip. For those who’d like, finely chop one other ⅓ cup of pecans and layer them excessive of the cake (don’t go all the best way to the sting) earlier than including the frosting swirls across the edge.
⅓ cup pecan halves
Notes
Pecans
Measure pecans earlier than chopping. To get my pecans very superb, I toss them within the meals processor and pulse till they’re superb. Don’t pulse too far, otherwise you’ll flip them into nut butter!
Baking Pans
For those who solely have two spherical pans, bake your first two layers and depart the remaining batter lined within the mixing bowl. Permit the cake pan to chill earlier than including the remaining batter and cooking your last layer.
Storing
Retailer in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 2 days or within the fridge, tightly lined, for as much as per week. This cake may be wrapped tightly and frozen
Diet
Serving: 1serving | Energy: 975kcal | Carbohydrates: 113g | Protein: 8g | Fats: 57g | Saturated Fats: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 5g | Monounsaturated Fats: 18g | Trans Fats: 2g | Ldl cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 415mg | Potassium: 210mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 87g | Vitamin A: 1489IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 1mg
Dietary data is predicated on third-party calculations and ought to be thought-about an estimate solely. Precise dietary content material will range primarily based upon manufacturers used, measuring strategies, cooking technique, portion sizes, and extra.
Associated Recipes