Butter Pecan Cake
Take a trip back in time with this delicious butter pecan cake.
Butter pecan is one of those dessert flavors that never goes out of style. There's something about the combination of rich butter and sweet caramel that never gets old!
That's the inspiration for this timeless butter pecan cake recipe, but we've gone ahead and made a few updates that we think you'll really like.
First of all, our recipe uses a cake mix. So you can enjoy your favorite butter pecan cake recipe in no time at all. We've also incorporated brown butter into the frosting, taking this gorgeous dessert to the next level.
Make it for your next party and remind everyone why old recipes are the best ones!
Ingredients
- 1 yellow cake mix
- 2 1/4 cups chopped pecans
- For the Brown Butter Frosting
- 2 1/4 cups salted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup shortening
- 10 cups powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons milk
Butter Pecan Cake Recipe
To Make the Cake
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides.
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Make cake mix according to package instructions.
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Gently stir 1 cup of the pecans into the batter.
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Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for about 24-26 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
To Make the Brown Butter Frosting
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Melt 2 cups of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the butter occasionally so that it cooks evenly.
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Cook the butter until it turns toasty brown. It will foam up at first, but it will eventually subside and you’ll have browned butter.
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Cool the butter to room temperature, then add it to a large mixer bowl with the additional 1/4 cup of butter and the shortening. Beat until smooth.
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Slowly add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
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Add 4-5 tablespoons of water and mix until smooth.
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Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
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Add the remaining water, if needed, and mix until smooth.
To Assemble
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Place the first cake on a serving plate.
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Spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly on top of the cake, then top the frosting with 3-4 tablespoons of the remaining pecans.
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Add the second layer of cake, another cup of frosting and 3-4 tablespoons of pecans.
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Top the cake with the remaining layer and frost the cake.
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