Who doesn’t love a great Pecan Pie?? It’s such a classic… a sweet, buttery, almost caramely flavored filling filled with rich nutty pecans!
This Pecan Pie cake isn’t a pie, but it has the delicious flavors of one! Soft buttery layers of cake & pecans with a gooey rich filling that is just incredible. The whole cake is then frosted in a very lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream for a treat that is completely out of this world!
There are a few steps to putting this together but we love this cake so it’s definitely worth it! You can make the filling (and even the layers) the day before. The cake is best if it sits for a few hours once assembled. Take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.
My husband loves this cake. Once sliced, he drizzles the cake with a little bit of cream from the fridge to make it extra special!
Note: Recipes on Spend With Pennies are always tested several times before posting. Even once posted, favorite recipes are made over and over which sometimes leads to new ‘tweaks’ improving recipe quality. There have been a couple of quick edits to this recipe after testing it a few additional times. Edits include adjusting bake time by a few minutes and brushing the cake with a cream mixture after baking.
Items you’ll need for this recipe
* Pecans * 9″ Cake Pan * Vanilla Extract *
Pecan Pie Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups chopped pecans divided
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 eggs separated
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ⅓ cup caramel sauce
- ⅓ cup half and half or light cream
Filling
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ¾ cup dark corn syrup
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups half and half or light cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Other
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- chopped pecans optional
- cream for serving
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease three 9-inch pans and sprinkle 2 cups chopped pecans evenly between the pans.
- Place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 1 cup measuring cup and top to 1 cup with milk. Set aside.
- With a mixer on medium, cream together ¾ cup butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat the egg yolks and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture alternating with soured milk.
- With the mixer on medium-high, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites and 1 cup of chopped pecans into the butter mixture just until completely combined.
- Divide batter between the 3 prepared pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18-23 minutes, or just until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake. Cool in the pan 5 minutes. Remove from pans onto cooling racks lined with parchment paper.
- Combine caramel sauce & light cream. Brush over each of the warm cakes twice. Cool completely.
Filling (Can be made 1 day ahead of time)
- Combine ½ cup brown sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, egg, light cream and corn syrup in a large saucepan.
- Stir continuously over medium heat until mixture boils. Let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Cool completely.
Assembly
- Place one of the cakes on a plate with the pecans on top. Top with half of the cooled filling. Repeat layers and finally top with the last cake.
- Whip cream and powdered sugar on medium high until stiff peaks form. Frost cake with whipped cream and top with additional pecans if desired.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
- To serve, slice the cake and drizzle each slice with about 2 tablespoons fresh cream before serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Here are more recipes you’ll love
* Easy Pecan Pie * Pecan Pie Cookies * Pecan Pie Cheese ball *
Adapted from allrecipes.com
My filling is not thickening any suggestions?
The cornstarch should definitely make it thicken. If it’s not thickening you could possibly try making a slurry (equal parts cornstarch and water) and whisking it in a little at a time while your initial mixture is boiling.
I made this yesterday for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. It was time consuming for me, possibly because I do not bake a lot. I used Cheryl’s icing recipe (previous post). This cake was AMAZING!!! I will definitely make this again. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Wendy!
This sounds tasty!
I was wondering how I could do this as a bundt cake? Maybe use the filling as icing and serve whipped cream with it?
Thank you!
Hello,
The recipe says 2 cups of pecans but further down states 1 cup. I wanted to clarify how many cups of pecans are actually used?
Thanks
The recipe states both 2 cups and further down 1 cup.
There are 2 cups chopped that are sprinkled in the pans in step 2. There is an additional 1 cup chopped that is added to the batter in step 6. Hope that helps! :)
Which side of the cake do you brush withe the caramel cream mixture? The bottom or top? Do you invert onto the parchment to cool or keep the top side up? Hope that makes sense.
I inverted it and brushed it on (so it would be on the side that was the bottom while baking in the oven). Hope that helps.
Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing your great post with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
This recipe is divine! !! Can you use a box mix?
I haven’t tried it with a box mix so I can’t say for sure.
What a gorgeous cake! Reminds me of a hummingbird cake (one of my all time favourites). So impressive!
Thank you so much Jessica!
This sounds scrumptious! Thanks for sharing! Found you on The Recipe Critic link up =)
Thank you for stopping by!
How can I prevent the whipped cream from “falling”? Every time I make it it comes out beautifully, but after a few hours sitting in the refrigerator, it turns into liquid.
I have an article about making whipped cream here. Have you ever tried using a stabilizer? It’s a powder that you add to whipped cream as you’re making it and this will help it stand up, even overnight! Hope that helps.
where do you get the stabilizer
Most grocery stores sell it (in the baking aisle) or you can get it online here.
Where do I get caramel sauce? Do I make it, purchase it, or what? This looks amazing!!!!
Either homemade or purchased will work!
This cake is divine and well worth the effort to make. I used a sturdy whipped cream icing that I prefer to regular whipped cream. It is more stable at room temperature and has a creamy texture that I like. With the whisk attachment, whip 8 oz of softened cream cheese until creamy. Add 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 tsp almond extract, and mix well. With the mixer running on medium-low, slowly pour 2 cups of heavy whipping cream down the side of the mixer bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and whip until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whip some more until completely combined. Spread onto cake. I have used this for all sorts of cakes and it also works for piping borders. It’s delicious with a lemon/blueberry or other fruit cake, too.
Your icing recipe sounds delicious Cheryl! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing this. I used it on this cake. It is so good. I will definitely use this again.
Have you ever made this using buttermilk instead if the milk with lemon juice added? This looks absolutely wonderful!
That would work just fine!
In filling what is light cream? Like light whipping cream?
Like Half & Half… usually around 10%. :)
Thanks for the question and answer about the light cream. I didn’t know it meant half and half. This sounds wonderful!
recipe instructions please, can’twait to try this.
Any suggestions for a different icing for this cake? thanks!
I prefer a less sweet frosting with this cake. Other alternatives would be a whipped topping (such as Cool Whip) or even a vanilla buttercream. :) Enjoy!
I’m a bit confused is step 6 mixed in with step 5??
Yes. In step 5 you are combining the flour and the butter which makes a thick batter. In step 6, the egg whites are beaten and then folded into the batter. (I’ve edited the wording, thank you for your question!). :)
Thank you for responding as I really want to make this cake! !
This looks delicious!
Instructions for filling have corn syrup but there is none in ingredient list
Thank you for catching that Terri! Somehow I left that off the ingredients list. I’ve added it in. :)
In the cake directions it calls for flour, is this all purpose or self-rising flour? Thank you!
I used all purpose flour. :)
Is there truly 9 eggs used in this recipe? And do you have a suggestion for what to use the egg whites with?
This recipe does have 9 eggs. :) I usually eat any leftover egg whites as scrambled eggs.
They will keep in the fridge for a couple of days but egg whites can also be easily frozen! Once defrosted they will still work for meringues, mousse or any other recipes calling for egg whites.
Thanks so much. I didn’t know you could keep them frozen. I appreciate how quickly you respond to any questions! I am looking forward to making this cake!
You’re welcome! Enjoy and have a great weekend!
I only count 8 eggs. Am I missing something?
This sounds so divine, but I’m not sure if I can pull it off or know of people who will help me eat it! lol
Thanks for posting!
Oops, I also count 8! LOL… I hope you can find people to share it with, it’s so yummy!!
Make angle food cake with the egg whites
There is a recipe for Meringue Kisses that is made with egg whites, sugar and vanilla. 2 egg whites, 8 Tbs sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla
Beat egg whites till stiff, slowly add in 6 tbs sugar 1 tbs at a time add in vanilla then the remaining 2 tbs sugar either pipe or use teaspoon to arrange on brown paper or parchment paper on cookie sheet bake in 250 degree oven for 1 hour turn off oven and leave door closed for 6-8 hours, or overnight. DO NOT open oven door. They need to dry out store in tightly sealed container.
3 more egg whites and you can make angel food cake :)