Butter Pecan Cake Recipe: How to Make Butter Pecans
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: May 26, 2022 • 4 min read
Flavored with brown butter and pecans, butter pecan cake is a satisfying dessert with a tender crumb and sweet frosting. Choose almost any frosting to envelop this nutty and buttery dessert.
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What Is Butter Pecan Cake?
Butter pecan cake is a frosted cake featuring the flavors of butter pecan ice cream. Depending on the recipe, the cake batter and the frosting contain pecans toasted in butter. Toasting the pecans in the hot fat gives them a buttery flavor not found in standard toasted pecans. Make this recipe into a sheet cake for ease, bake the batter in round cake pans to create a celebratory layer cake, or bake it in a bundt pan and decorate it with a brown butter glaze.
How to Toast Pecans in Butter
Toasting pecans in a dry skillet on the stovetop or roasting them in the oven enhances their aroma, but cooking them in butter creates an entirely different flavor profile. Here’s how to do it:
- 1. Melt a few tablespoons of butter. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt unsalted butter. Salted butter also works, but you may need to cut back on the amount of salt in your recipe to account for the butter’s salt content.
- 2. Roughly chop whole pecans. Hand-chopping your pecans allows you to incorporate some textural variation. The smaller the pecan pieces are, the easier it is to distribute them throughout the cake, but bigger pieces retain their crunch better.
- 3. Toast the pecans in the butter. Add the chopped pecans to the butter and toast them until golden brown and fragrant, which takes about five minutes. Turn the heat off and transfer the pecan butter to a medium bowl to cool to room temperature.
3 Frostings for Butter Pecan Cake
Unlike German chocolate cake and carrot cake, butter pecan cake lacks a traditional frosting option. These three frostings work equally well, so choose your favorite.
- 1. Buttercream frosting: Buttercream is a popular frosting option due to its stability and rich flavor. There are five types of buttercream frosting; American buttercream, which involves beating butter and powdered sugar together, is the easiest but least stable. This vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream recipe by Joanne Chang, a renowned pastry chef, is a great option for frosting layer cakes.
- 2. Coconut pecan frosting: The traditional frosting for German chocolate cake, coconut pecan frosting has a custard base mixed with toasted coconut and pecans. The pecans in the frosting complement the pecans in the cake, and the coconut adds another layer of texture. Learn how to make German buttercream, one of the only frostings that use egg yolks.
- 3. Cream cheese frosting: Found most often on carrot cake, cream cheese frosting is sweet and tangy. Many butter pecan recipes include a cream cheese frosting recipe because the tangy cream cheese complements the sweet and nutty cake. A sour cream–based frosting works for the same reasons.
Layered Butter Pecan Cake Recipe
makes
1 9-inch layer cakeprep time
20 mintotal time
1 hrcook time
40 minIngredients
For the butter pecans:
For the cakes:
For the cream cheese frosting and assembly:
Note: The total time does not include 4 hours of inactive time.
Make the butter pecans:
- 1
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
- 2
Add the chopped pecans.
- 3
Toast the pecans in the butter until golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- 4
Transfer the butter pecans to a mixing bowl.
Bake the cakes:
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Grease 2 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.
- 3
Line the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper.
- 4
In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set it aside.
- 5
In a glass measuring cup, combine the milk and the butter pecan mixture. Set the mixture aside.
- 6
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- 7
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
- 8
Add the vanilla extract and mix to incorporate.
- 9
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and the wet ingredients alternately, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
- 10
Divide the cake batter between the two pans.
- 11
Bake the cakes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
- 12
Carefully remove the cake layers from the pans and transfer them to wire racks to cool completely, about 4 hours.
Make the cream cheese frosting and assemble:
- 1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until combined.
- 2
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla to the cream cheese mixture, then beat together for 3 minutes.
- 3
Beat the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar mixture for 3 minutes.
- 4
Beat in the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 7 minutes.
- 5
Place one layer of the cooled cake on a plate or cake stand.
- 6
Scoop some of the cream cheese frosting on top of the cake layer.
- 7
Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting into an even layer.
- 8
Place the other cake layer on top of the frosting.
- 9
Scoop the remaining frosting on top of the cake.
- 10
Spread the frosting toward the edges of the cake and down the sides of the cake.
- 11
Cover the entire cake with frosting and smooth it out.
- 12
Serve the cake immediately.
- 13
Cover leftover cake with plastic wrap or store individual slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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