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!
Southern Butter Pecan Cake
This butter pecan cake is simply incredible. It is soft, super moist (it literally melts in your mouth), and the flavor is out of this world. You will love how easily it mixes together with the reverse creaming method (first used in my caramel cake and most recently in my peanut butter cupcakes). And don’t even get me started on the brown sugar cream cheese frosting…
The crumb of this cake is unique and irresistible. It is so fluffy and light, and thanks to the finely chopped pecans, it’s almost a bit crumbly (but in a moist, light way!). The shining flavors of browned butter and nutty pecans are perfectly enhanced by brown sugar and vanilla, and everything is beautifully tied together with the brown sugar frosting (carefully designed to not be too sweet!). It’s the best pairing!
What you’ll love about my recipe:
- Takes just over an hour to make.
- Stunning (yet easy!) final look your guests will love.
- Cozy and unique flavor–great for mixing up your traditional birthday cake!
- Incredible texture and crumb.
What You Need
Here are the key ingredients that make this butter pecan cake so special:
- Cake flour. I don’t recommend using all-purpose flour here, as fine cake flour works better for making the cake crumb light and extra soft. Do make sure you measure your flour properly!
- Brown sugar. We’ll use light brown sugar in the cake and the icing. Yes, we are also using powdered sugar in the icing, but I promise it’s not too sweet! It’s actually less sugar than standard American buttercream.
- Buttermilk. Buttermilk keeps this butter pecan cake super tender and moist. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can use my easy buttermilk substitute.
- Cream cheese. While there is cream cheese in this frosting, it’s not overpowering. Instead, it keeps the frosting from being too sweet and accents the other flavors of the cake nicely. Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese.
- Pecans. Make sure to measure your pecans before chopping them. For ease, I like to chop my pecans in a food processor.
SAM’S TIP: I don’t toast my pecans before adding them (I just don’t find it necessary here), but you certainly can. I have an easy guide on how to toast pecans, for your reference!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Butter Pecan Cake
Browning the Butter
- Melt and cook – Melt butter over medium-low heat. Increase the heat and cook, stirring frequently, as the butter begins to foam and sizzle.
- Let it cool – Once you see brown specks forming on the bottom of the pan, remove the butter from the heat and pour into a heatproof bowl to cool completely.
Chopping the Pecans
- Measure your pecans and place them in the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse until the pecans are fine crumbs, then stop. Set aside 1 ½ cups for the cake and ⅓ cup for the decoration.
Making the Cake Batter
- Dry ingredients – Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the browned butter and stir with the mixer on low speed until incorporated.
- Wet ingredients – Combine the remaining wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the dry ingredients, pausing halfway through to scrape the bowl.
- Add the pecans and stir until incorporated.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t stress if you see small lumps in your batter–these are totally normal!
Making the Cake Batter
- Bake – Divide the batter between greased/floured/lined pans and bake for 30 minutes at 350F.
- Let the cakes cool in their pans for 15 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Making the Frosting/Prepping the Cake
- Cream the butter – Beat together the butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
- Add the sugar – Gradually add the powdered sugar until combined.
- Add the cream – Pause to scrape the bowl, then add the heavy cream.
- Whip until smooth and fluffy.
Decorating
- Level and stack your cake layers, adding a thick layer of frosting in between each.
- Frost the sides and top of the cake with a thin layer of frosting.
- Add pecans on top, if desired.
- Decorate the top of the cake with piped frosting swirls.
SAM’S TIP: If you only have two cake pans, you can let the remaining batter sit covered at room temperature while your first two layers bake. Remember to let your pan cool completely before adding the batter for the third layer!
Frequently Asked Questions
This cake can be made in a 9×13″ pan, but you will have excess batter. Fill your pan ⅔ of the way full, then either discard the excess batter or use it to make cupcakes.
Personally I do not refrigerate if I plan on enjoying within two days. If you want your cake to last longer, you can store it in the fridge for up to one week. Butter pecan cake also freezes well.
My brown butter frosting, caramel frosting, german buttercream, or cream cheese frosting would all be a nice fit for this cake. I highly recommend trying the frosting included here at least once though–it really is the best option!
Looking for more southern-inspired recipes? Try my sweet tea or coca cola cake!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Butter Pecan Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- 3 cups (333 g) cake flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (354 ml) buttermilk room temperature preferred
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (160 g) pecan halves very finely chopped (see note)
Icing
- 1 ½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter softened
- 6 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup (66 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 ½ cups (562 g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
- ⅓ cup (35 g) pecan halves very finely chopped, optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
Brown the Butter
- 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.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
Make the Cake
- 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.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.3 cups (333 g) cake flour, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- Add browned butter and use an electric mixer to stir on low-speed until thoroughly incorporated.
- 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).1 ½ cups (354 ml) buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Stir in pecans until well incorporated.1 ½ cups (160 g) pecan halves
- 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.
- 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
- 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.1 ½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter, 6 oz cream cheese, ⅓ cup (66 g) light brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
- 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).4 ½ cups (562 g) powdered sugar
- Add heavy cream and beat on high speed for 30 seconds, until frosting is smooth and silky.1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Decorating Cake
- 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.⅓ cup (35 g) pecan halves
Notes
Pecans
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!Baking Pans
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.Storing
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 frozenNutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Lynne Grubbs
I made cupcakes. The recipe made almost 3 dozen. I baked them for 18 minutes.
Would pecan flour work in place of the pecans? I didn’t try it, but was wondering since I have some.
Sam
Hi Lynne! I’m not sure how pecan flour would work. I haven’t personally used it before. If you do try it I would love to know how it turns out. 🙂
Carrie
Hi Sam,
Can I make this cake entirely (iced and decorated too) ahead and freeze it for a few days? Will it thaw out nicely?
Sam
Hi Carrie! I have never personally done it but I think that should work just fine. 🙂
Joan Smith
Can this be done as a Bundt cake?
Sam
Hi Joan! I haven’t personally done it, but it could work. I’m not sure on a bake time.
Terri Clark
Could you make this in a 9X13 pan?
Sam
Hi Terri! It should fit into a 9 x 13, but I’m not sure on a bake time.
Terri Clark
Thank you!
Angie
Hi there
I have made your other cakes before (which have turned out AMAZING) so pretty d*** keen on making this! I prefer weighing too and I noticed in a previous comment your “cups” for flour go by 125g per cup. Looking at your other recipes… the measurements are a bit different. I just want to check it is supposed to be 375g of cake flour? or 333g of cake flour? (which would be 2 2/3 cups (333g) not 3 (375g)). Thanks in advance 🙂
Sam
Hi Angie! A cup of all purpose flour weighs 125g. A cup of cake flour weighs ~111-113g, which is why you see 333g for 3 cups of cake flour. You will want to use the weight listed here. I hope this helps. 🙂
Angie
Ohhhhhhhh thanks for the quick reply! I didn’t know that about cake flour as I rarely use it but granted your recipe explained its reasoning I went and bought cake flour. I’m starting it today for friends birthday so thank you again!
Gabriela
Can I use self rising flour?
Sam
Hi Gabriela! I would not recommend it here. 🙁
Gabriela
Thanks for answer me. Can I use this frosting to make a perfect base for a birthday cake? Also, can I use this recipe in a two 9 inch pans?
Sam
This will work in 2 9 inch pans but I’m not sure on a bake time. The frosting would be great on a birthday cake. 🙂
Sam
would this icing work well for decorating? like piping on the cake?
Sam
Hi Sam! The pictures of the cake you see here are this exact frosting. It does pipe well. 🙂
Martha Hale
Fantastic recipe! Best cake I’ve ever made (or tasted)!
Jordan
I have made this in lieu of pecan pie for two Thanksgivings now, and I absolutely love it. I make it with a cup-for-cup gluten free flour for my GF family and it is delicious. I also love this cake with Sugar Spun Run’s browned butter cream cheese frosting and some maple extract. Truly a delectable cake!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jordan! 🙂
Connie Sanzo
I made this before, and am preparing to make it again. I made your butter pecan cookies the other day (I have a pecan tree!)
However, every time I check your cup-to-grams conversions, the grams are different from what other places on the Internet say. (These are not random sites; but venerable ones.) E.g., 213-218 grams for packed light brown sugar (this recipe says 100).
So, I don’t know if I should just use your gram measurements or if the taste would improve with using others. I do watch the recipe videos, and see you using measuring cups without weighing. Input, please?
Sam
Hi Connie! A cup of packed brown sugar is 200 grams not 100. Where are you seeing that a full cup is 100g? I would need to correct that but I don’t see that anywhere in the recipe. The gram measurements are what I use when I personally bake the cake. 🙂
Connie Sanzo
Apologies; I’d meant 200 but made a typo. My point was that the grams listed in your recipes are different from other conversions I see online. I’ll just use the ones you use. Thanks.
Sam
Ah, unfortunately there’s no true “standard” for cups which is why you’ll see variation from site to site. I have standardized measurements across my website (200g for sugar, 125g for flour, etc.). The grams listed are always what i personally use and what you should use when baking my recipes. In the videos I weigh everything out in advance and then put them into bowls to have them handy and “mise en place“, but you can trust the grams are what were used to test the recipe. I am glad you are enjoying the recipes!
Sam
Can you make this cake with the frosting a day in advance or is it better to do the frosting the following day?
Sam
Hi Sam! You can make it a day in advance without any issue. 🙂
Jess
Hi, just wondering if you can make this cake with all-purpose flour instead of cake flour? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Jess! I don’t recommend using all-purpose flour here, as fine cake flour works better for making the cake crumb light and extra soft.
Madison
I have made this cake three times now and it is amazing every time!!! I was looking to make this recipe into cupcakes this time- are there any changes that you recommend? Especially about baking temp/time?
Sam
Hi Madison! You would want to use the same temperature. I haven’t personally baked this as cupcakes, but I would start checking them around 17 minutes. 🙂