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.
Emily
Thanks for sharing. Are the nuts roasted or raw?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Emily! We don’t typically toast them, but you certainly can 😊
Sequoia
Are we able to make cupcakes out of this recipe?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yes! Enjoy ☺️
Kay
562 g of powdered sugar is more than 4 1/2 c. Which is right? I like to go by weights when I can but thankfully noted the discrepancy and went in between the two. I think maybe I could have stood doing less.
Sam
Hi Kay! The standard in my kitchen is 125 grams per cup of powdered sugar. The weights listed in the recipes are all correct and what I personally use, so 562 grams is correct and is what 4 1/2 cups of sugar weighs (at least per my standard, everyone seems to weigh things a little differently which is why I always recommend going by weight). I hope that helps.
Taryn
I haven’t cooked and tried the cake part yet but I made the frosting recipe for boxed butter pecan cupcakes and it was awesome. I did add about a tbsp or so of maple syrup which brought out the flavor more. Love the frosting recipe! I will try the cake recipe when I have more time.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed the frosting, Taryn! Thanks for using our recipe 😊
Miriam Rose Blanar
I’m planning on making this for the weekend. I had a question on the frosting. is there a reason why there is so much butter? And if I used 1 cup instead of 1 1/2 cups, would that be OK? I’ve just never have seen that much butter in a frosting before…..
I’m sure it’s delicious, though!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Miriam! Since this is a three layer cake, we are using quite a bit of frosting. That’s why there’s so much butter! If you look at some of our other three layer cakes, you’ll see the same amount of butter (or more!). We recommend sticking with the recipe for best results 😊
Miriam Rose Blanar
Thank you! that makes sense!
Beth
Hi Sam. I did leave the cream out and it was firmer. I had to put it in the fridge a little longer in between the different stages. But it came out great! Everyone raved about the cake. Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes.
I wish we could send you pics
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy the cake was such a hit, Beth! Thanks for letting us know how it went for you 😊
Meliza Alvarez
Hi! Is there anyway i can replace the cake flour with spelt flour?
Sam
Hi Meliza! I have not tried it with spelt flour so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out.
Gail
Would this make good cupcakes?
Sam
Hi Gail! Others have done so with success and really enjoyed them. 🙂
Carm
The cake had good flavour but it was way more dense than I was expecting. I thought it would be a moist fluffy cake.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this, Carm! It shouldn’t be dense. It should be a nice moist cake. This is essentially the reverse creaming method which provides a tighter crumb but shouldn’t be dense and dry. 🙁
Carm
Maybe something was wrong with my baking soda or powder. I will definitely try the recipe again in the future because it still tasted great.
Is there a way to edit my rating if I try it again in the future?
Sam
I hope it’s better next time! You can just reply to this comment with a new rating. 🙂
Rylee
Hi! I’m curious if you ever tried the recipe again. Mine is also very dense, but the flavor is great. I measured the flour by weight and used brand new baking soda/powder. Thanks!
Sam
I’m so sorry you are having issues, Rylee! A dense cake can be a result of over-mixing. This isn’t highly likely in this recipe as the reverse creaming method can help prevent this. Was it over-baked by chance? 🙁
Anna Marie
I’m usually a chocolate fan but this one is just as good!
My husband loves butter pecan but only ever had the boxed cake mix version …wow did this ever impress! That frosting though!
We added chopped pecan pralines on top
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Marina
Made this cake for my family for the first time and it was absolutely AMAZING! It’s just beyond perfect.. everybody loved it and paired with the homemade caramel sauce and frosting was the cherry on top! This one is definitely going into the recipe book for future baking..
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy the cake was such a hit, Marina!! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🥰
Kelli Hodkinson
LOVED this cake! Followed as directed and turned out magnificent!
Dominique
Hi! Around how many cupcakes do you think this recipe would make? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Dominique! You will get at least 24, maybe a couple more. 🙂
Connie
Can I use a sheet pan to make this cake?
Sam
Hi Connie! I think it could be done. It may be a bit too much for a 9 x 13 so make sure you don’t overfill it. 🙂
Mark
Hey
I’m making this cake for the second time now. First ruined because there a ton of lumps in batter that couldn’t be dealt with. Now on second try it happened again. Can you advise asap if I can fix this before throwing away??? This is not just a few lumps like you said it’s a ton!!
Sam
Hi Mark, did you compare it to the batter in the video? Are they small lumps? I would just bake it honestly.
Mark
Hi
Can I toast the pecans before adding to cake?
Sam
Hi Mark! That will work. I have a post on how to toast pecans if you need it. 🙂
Beth
Hello from Florida ☀️
Will the frosting be stiff enough to create a fault line on the side of the cake?
I just made it and can’t wait to try it. Just need to frost it.
Sam
Hi Beth! I’ve never made a fault line cake, but this frosting as is will probably be a bit on the softer side. You would likely want to leave out the cream and add a bit more powdered sugar to make it a bit more firm. 🙂