Butter pecan cake is a soft, moist two-layer cake flavored with buttery toasted pecans, brown sugar and a touch of maple, covered in a brown sugar cream cheese frosting with more pecans stirred through it. It is a cake for Thanksgiving, a fall birthday or Sunday dinner.
How to make butter pecan cake: Toast pecans with melted butter and cinnamon, then divide them three ways. Cream butter with white and brown sugar, add eggs, extracts and sour cream, then flour and milk, and stir in the pecans. Bake in two 9-inch pans at 350°F for 25 to 28 minutes. Cool completely and frost with brown sugar cream cheese frosting.
Why You’ll Love It
- Pecans three ways. Ground into the batter, in pieces in the cake and in the frosting.
- From scratch. No box mix.
- A frosting with depth. Brown sugar and maple go into the cream cheese frosting.
- Two layers, ten slices. A proper celebration cake.
Ingredient Notes
Pecans. One and a half cups of pecan chips, tossed with 3 tablespoons of melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and toasted.
Unsalted butter. It appears three times: 3 tablespoons melted for the pecans, 12 tablespoons at room temperature for the cake and 4 tablespoons at room temperature for the frosting.
Sugars. The cake takes 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar. The frosting takes another 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, soft and free of lumps, plus 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar.
Eggs. Two eggs plus 1 egg yolk.
Vanilla and maple extract. Both go into the cake and the frosting.
Sour cream and whole milk. A 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1 cup of milk.
Cream cheese. Eight ounces, at room temperature.
Ingredients
For the buttered pecans
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, chips
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup whole milk
For the frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, soft and free of lumps
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
How to Make Butter Pecan Cake
1. Prepare the pans. Heat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease two 9-inch cake pans with shortening and lightly dust them with flour.
2. Toast the pecans. Toss the pecan chips with the melted butter and cinnamon. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes, flipping halfway through. They should be fragrant and slightly crunchy. Let them cool on the pan.
3. Divide the pecans. Process 1/2 cup of the cooled pecans until creamy. Set that portion aside for the batter, 1/2 cup of pecan chips for the batter, and the remaining 1/2 cup for the frosting.
4. Mix the cake. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream the granulated sugar, brown sugar and room-temperature butter. Mix in the eggs and egg yolk, then the vanilla extract, maple extract and sour cream. Mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. Once the batter is combined and fluffy, stir in the processed pecans and the reserved 1/2 cup of pecan chips.
5. Bake and cool. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, checking at 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans until the pans are cool enough to touch. Remove the cakes and cool them completely on a rack.
6. Make the frosting. Cream the cream cheese and room-temperature butter together. Add the frosting’s brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, with no gritty texture. Mix in the vanilla extract, maple extract and pinch of salt. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar until smooth and creamy, then stir in the reserved pecan chips.
7. Frost. Frost the completely cooled cakes.
Where Do the Buttered Pecans Go?
Into three places, in equal parts. After the pecans are toasted and cooled, split the 1 1/2 cups into three half-cup piles before you do anything else.
| Pile | What to do with it | Where it ends up |
|---|---|---|
| First 1/2 cup | Process until creamy | Stirred into the cake batter |
| Second 1/2 cup | Leave as chips | Stirred into the cake batter |
| Third 1/2 cup | Leave as chips | Stirred into the finished frosting |
The processed pecans spread the nut flavor through every bite of the cake. The chips give you pieces to bite into. The last pile gives the frosting its crunch.
One more thing about the frosting: beat the brown sugar into the cream cheese and butter until the mixture is light and fluffy and you can no longer feel grit. Do that before the powdered sugar goes in.
Tips for Success
How do I know the pecans are toasted?
They smell fragrant and are slightly crunchy after 6 minutes. Flip them halfway through and let them cool on the pan.
How do I know the cake is done?
A toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean. Check at 25 minutes.
Why is my frosting gritty?
The brown sugar was not beaten long enough. Use soft brown sugar with no lumps and beat until creamy.
When can I frost the cake?
Only when the layers are completely cool. They cool in the pans until the pans can be handled, then on a rack.
What filling goes between the layers?
The same frosting that covers the cake, with its pecan pieces.
Can You Use a Box Mix Instead?
Butter pecan cake is also made from a boxed mix, often in a Bundt pan, but that is a separate recipe. This page is the from-scratch layer cake, and I do not have box-mix amounts to give for it.
How Long Does It Take?
About 58 minutes in all: 30 minutes to toast the pecans and mix, and up to 28 minutes in the oven. The layers also need to cool completely before frosting, and the recipe does not put a time on that.
Storage & Reheating
This cake is not reheated. Because the frosting is made with cream cheese, keep the cake in a covered container in the refrigerator. USDA FSIS says to refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours. Tightly wrapped, unfrosted layers can be frozen for 2 to 3 months.
What to Serve With It
For more pecan baking, try the pecan upside down cake, the apple pecan cake with caramel glaze, pecan cheesecake bars or the easy pecan pie dump cake. For another buttery cake, bake the salted caramel Kentucky butter cake. And if you do not want to stack layers, there is Bea’s blueberry sheet cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
For this from-scratch cake, which pecans go in the batter and which go in the frosting?
Two of the three half-cup portions go in the batter, one processed until creamy and one left as chips. The third goes in the frosting.
What frosting tastes best with butter pecan cake?
This recipe uses a cream cheese frosting sweetened with brown sugar, with maple extract and pecans.
Can I freeze the cake layers?
Yes. Wrap the unfrosted layers tightly and freeze them for 2 to 3 months.
How many slices does it make?
Ten.
Final Notes
I split the toasted pecans into three small bowls as soon as they are cool, so none of the frosting’s share ends up in the batter. If you make it, leave a comment to tell me how it turned out or ask a question.
Butter Pecan Cake
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups pecans chips; toasted, then divided among the batter and the frosting
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, for the pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon for the pecans
- 2 cups all-purpose flour for the cake
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder for the cake
- 1/4 teaspoon salt for the cake
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar for the cake
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed, for the cake
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature, for the cake
- 2 eggs for the cake
- 1 egg yolk for the cake
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract for the cake
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract for the cake
- 1/2 cup sour cream for the cake
- 1 cup whole milk for the cake
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature, for the frosting
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature, for the frosting
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar soft and free of lumps, for the frosting
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract for the frosting
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract for the frosting
- 1 pinch salt for the frosting
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar for the frosting
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease two 9-inch cake pans with shortening and lightly dust them with flour.
- Toss the pecan chips with the melted butter and cinnamon. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes, flipping halfway through. They should be fragrant and slightly crunchy. Let them cool on the pan.
- Process 1/2 cup of the cooled pecans until creamy. Set that portion aside for the batter, 1/2 cup of pecan chips for the batter, and the remaining 1/2 cup for the frosting.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream the granulated sugar, brown sugar and room-temperature butter. Mix in the eggs and egg yolk, then the vanilla extract, maple extract and sour cream. Mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. Once the batter is combined and fluffy, stir in the processed pecans and the reserved 1/2 cup of pecan chips.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, checking at 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans until the pans are cool enough to touch. Remove the cakes and cool them completely on a rack.
- Cream the cream cheese and room-temperature butter together. Add the frosting's brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, with no gritty texture. Mix in the vanilla extract, maple extract and pinch of salt. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar until smooth and creamy, then stir in the reserved pecan chips.
- Frost the completely cooled cakes.
