This Pecan Pie Cake is perfect for your holiday get-togethers! Brown sugar cake layers and buttercream filled with traditional pecan pie filling.
Thirty dollars. That’s how much I spent on pecans for this cake. I kid you not. Thirty dollars!! Is that crazy to anyone else? Ridiculous.
The pecans were on sale, too. Good grief. I didn’t use all of them (most, though), but I always get more than I need just in case. In hindsight, I probably could have gotten a giant bag of them in Costco for less.
I’m not complaining about it (only kinda), but more so this is a PSA for those people who don’t bake. Next time you ask your baker buddy to make a cake for you, be aware that the ingredients do not come cheap, never mind the time it takes to make the cakes too.
And if they are making it for you for free, that is a good friend. You should cherish them and shower them with adoration and gift cards to their favorite baking store.
Now, let’s talk about this delicious Pecan Pie Cake!
Pecan pie is my favorite Fall pie. It beats out apple pie (narrowly) and demolishes pumpkin pie (which I actually don’t like at all — it’s a texture thing).
We never had pecan pie growing up, or any kind of Fall pie or dessert to be honest. Thanksgiving was a tradition that we adopted after we moved here. It’s not a part of Polish culture (obviously), but my parents happily accepted it and other Canadian traditions like Halloween when were growing up.
For some reason though, we never got the pies! I feel totally deprived. I am sure you can sympathize.
I must have been in my 20’s before I had pecan pie for the first time. I’ll be honest that it never really appealed to me before I had it. The filling looked weird, and I imagined the texture to be very unpleasant. Holy crap did I ever miss out. It is amazing!!
What I pictured as a gooey gelatinous filling is actually more creamy custard-like, and it is soooo good. Like, mouthwateringly so.
Since this is a cake blog and all, and I don’t enjoy making pies, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take all that is delicious about pecan pie and transform it into a beautiful cake.
How to Make this Pecan Pie Cake
For the cake layers, I swapped out some granulated sugar and replaced it with (light) brown sugar to enhance the flavor and compliment the pecan pie filling.
The frosting is also made with (dark) brown sugar instead of the traditional granulated sugar you see in a Swiss meringue. This gives it a richer flavor, but I also love the color it gives the frosting! I used the same one for my Walnut Cake.
I chose to not put frosting between the layers of this Pecan Pie Cake, as I thought it would be a bit much in addition to the pecan pie filling.
The filling is quite sweet, and I thought it would be overkill with the frosting there too. I found the frosting on the sides and top to be enough, but you’re more than welcome to slather some on that first layer too!
The filling tastes JUST like a pecan pie. It’s pure heaven. The brown sugar cake and frosting are a perfect compliment to it.
This Pecan Pie Cake is the perfect cake for your holiday baking, whether it’s for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or anywhere in between!
Tips for this Pecan Pie Cake:
- The recipe as-is will also work in three 6″ pans. For three 8″ pans, 1.5x the recipe.
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so.
- The cooled cake layers can be baked ahead of time, double wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 3 months. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
- The pecan pie filling can be made a couple days in advance, just keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Bring to room temperature and give it a good whisk before using.
- The frosting can be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated for 1 week for frozen for 3 months. Bring to room temp and rewhip before using.
- I didn’t bother, but you can toast the pecans for extra flavor, especially the decorative ones. 350F for 5 mins or so, until they are fragrant.
- I used a Wilton 6B piping tip to do the rope border at the top of the cake. I piped continuously in a corkscrew motion, holding my piping bag at almost 90 degrees, while turning the cake. It’s kinda hard to describe, so I hope that makes sense!
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- Learn how to keep your cakes moist using Simple Syrup.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, check out my How to Bake Flat Cake Layers post!
Pecan Pie Cake
Ingredients
Pecan Pie Filling:
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Brown Sugar Cake:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk room temperature
Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 2/3 cups dark brown sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Assembly:
- 2 cups pecan halves
Instructions
Pecan Pie Filling:
- In a medium pot, whisk together water, egg yolk, and cornstarch. Add in brown sugar and chopped pecans and whisk to combine.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly for approx. 1 min.
- Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Cool completely before using on cake.
Brown Sugar Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8″ cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition.
- Bake for 35-40mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.
Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
- Place bowl over a double boiler on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins). Or registers 160F on a candy thermometer.
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.**
- Add vanilla and whip until smooth.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Pipe a damn of buttercream around the top and fill with approximately 2/3rds of the pecan pie filling.
- Place second cake layer on top and apply a thin coat of frosting all over to crumb coat. Chill for 20mins.
- Frost & smooth the top and sides of the cake. Do a rope border using a Wilton 6B piping tip. Chill for 20mins.
- Fill the middle between the rope border with the remainder of the pecan pie filling. Decorate top and bottom with pecan halves if desired.
Notes
** The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.
Originally published on Oct 1, 2017
Lacey says
I made this cake twice following the recipe exactly and both times the cake did not rise nearly as much as it should’ve. I would have had to stack 3 of the 4 layers to get it to the right height. The filling was a weird texture and just sweet not rich like a pecan pie. I had to add molasses and salt to make it interesting. The buttercream was great though!
Olivia says
Hi Lacey! Sorry to hear you had trouble with the cake — what size pans did you use? If the cake didn’t rise in the 8″ pans per the recipe, then it’s possible that your baking powder is expired or the batter was overmixed. The cake doesn’t rise a ton, but it should bake up to be roughly 1 3/4″ tall. Glad you liked the buttercream!
Stacy says
Can you make this and put it in the fridge overnight ?
Olivia says
Hi Stacy! Yes, you can store it in the fridge overnight.
Bianca Hunt says
So I had to try this recipe and included your link to a post I made for it. It was worth every bit of prep and not too sweet (considering the amount of sucral goodness).
http://imgur.com/gallery/zSt7mKv
You are a master for this! May the Gods bless you with a forever perfectly calibrated oven!
Olivia says
Hi Bianca! Thanks so much, I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 Your version looks amazing!
Sylvie says
I looooove pecan pie so I thought I would try the cake version for my family at Christmas. I like the look of a taller cake so I wonder if there would be enough batter for 3×6 inch cake pans or should I consider doubling the recipe? Same question for the filling, should I double as well? Love your recipies by the way!, always original and beautifully presented 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Sylvie! The recipe as is would work perfect for a three layer 6″ cake. I can’t remember if I had much filling left over — I would 1.5x that recipe just in case since you’ll be doing another layer. Let me know how it turns out!
Sylvie says
Hi liv! The cakes turned out beautifully as 3x 6 inches but they were quite thick. Next time i would split each cake into 2 and add more of the pecan pie filling. I finally doubled the filling so would have had enough for the extra layers. Ah well, guess I will have to make it again ;). Thanks for the great recipe!
Olivia says
Thanks so much for the update! I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Angela says
I want to try and make this for Thanksgiving…it looks beautiful! I’m just curious if one could make regular butter cream icing and just add brown sugar? If so about how much do you think would do the trick?
Olivia says
Hi Angela! The buttercream would be quite grainy if you just added brown sugar to an American buttercream as there’s no way for it to dissolve properly.
Angela says
Oh yeah…didn’t think about that. Lol. Hmmm. Oh well. My family just can’t do that much butter. Thank you for replying!
Angela says
Since the cake and filling are already pretty sweet how do you think a cream cheese frosting would taste as a substitute?
Olivia says
I think cream cheese would pair really well!
Stacy says
Would adding a little molasses to american buttercream give about the same flavor?
Olivia says
Hi Stacy! No, it wouldn’t be the same really.
Dana says
I am going to make this cake this week but I do not have 8” pans. Do you know how long to cook when using 9” pans?
Olivia says
Hi Dana! The layers will be quite a bit thinner in 9″ pans. I would check them at 25mins or so to see how they are coming along.
Christina Adam says
Do all swiss meringues have so much butter? My kids are frosting nuts and they couldn’t handle it.
Olivia says
Hi Christina! This is a standard Swiss Merignue recipe. Actually, this one has less butter than most. You can adjust the butter somewhat to taste, but if it tasted super butter heavy I suspect it needed to be whipped more.
Kaylee Stoppkotte says
I am hoping I can make this cake for thanksgiving!!! Do you have a video of how you did the rope on top?! I’m in total awe of this cake and I can’t wait to try it!!!!
Olivia says
Hi Kaylee! I do have a video in my Instagram story highlights (scroll through here until you get to it: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17911160518116999/) and in my baking group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/livforcakebakers/)
Claudia Cruse says
I would love to make this recipe, but am confused on your measurements. How much is .44 cups? How much is .67 egg yolk,and 3.33 egg whites?
Olivia says
Hi Claudia! Those are not the measurements in the recipe. It seems like you might have adjusted the servings slider by accident to get those numbers.
Chanel Johnson says
I love the concept of this beautiful cake.
So, I served it at my church harvest party for our youth this weekend. I did use my own butter cake recipe. It went over very well.
And my goodness young-lady–my first time making Brown Sugar SBC…. this stuff is slammin’. I will definitely keep this supplied in my freezer.!!
I am going to however, have to tweak the ‘mock’ pecan pie filling. (For me) because of the high water content and not nearly enough fat to add that ‘richness’ that this somewhat custard deserves…it was flat and weak in flavor I felt.
Kinda surprising for such a beautiful cake.
To try and achieve that missing ‘richness’ I took a chance and added about 3 tablespoon fulls of evaporated milk and a few dashes of salt. It helped. I
I think next time I am going to experiment by using only a few tablespoons of water or omit the water altogether and use cream, a few more yolks and butter… salt.
Maybe a few tablespoons of Dark Karo. Or better yet….just make the ‘actual’ pie filling, bake it without a crust… scoop it in all in a bowl and cool it down…. YASSSSSS. I think I’ll do that. For your concept—its worth it… with that silky icing……um.
Yeah. That’s what I’ll do. Anyway….
You are definitely a beautiful decorator… It’s why I chose yours over “Life, Love Cake” (I think that’s what her blog is called) version of Pecan Pie Cake but hadn’t compared the filling ingredients either. Yours frankly looked ‘richer’.
I am going try some your other ‘beauties’ though. May GOD Bless your hands continually young-lady.
Olivia says
Hi Chanel! Thanks so much for the detailed response and feedback. I’m so glad you loved the brown sugar SMBC! I found the filling to be quite thick and rich, but it’s a matter of taste/preference. I am curious how your experimentation goes! Thank you for the kind words and I can’t wait to hear what you try next 🙂
Chanel says
Yes ma’am. I sure will! GOD Bless.
Ashli says
Could I add chocolate chips to the pecan filling? I love chocolate chip pecan pie!
Olivia says
Hi Ashli! Yes, and I think that would be delicious!!
Jennifer says
This Brown Sugar SMBC is amazing! I added 0.75 cups of a bourbon butterscotch sauce to 1 recipe’s worth of the buttercream and it mixed in like a dream and tasted fabulous (with and without the butterscotch)!
Olivia says
Yay! I’m so glad that you liked it!! I need to try it with that bourbon butterscotch sauce — sounds amazing!!
Britanie B says
I made this last night for my aunt’s birthday which falls right around Thanksgiving. I must say it tastes and looks absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for this outstanding recipe – I will definitely be making it again! What a hit. The only improvement I will make next time is to shorten the bake time. Since everyone’s oven is different, I think mine sat in bit too long at 45 min.
PS can’t decide if the delightfully light icing or the pecan filling is my favourite part. It’s all so good!!!
Olivia says
Hi Britanie! I’m so happy to hear you liked it!!
Gaye says
Hi Olivia,
What a beautiful cake! I was just wondering if I could a buttercream frosting using butter, cream cheese and confectioners sugar instead of the Swiss meringue?
Olivia says
Hi Gaye! I think that would work totally fine!
Caitlin says
Do you keep leftovers of the cake in the fridge, or on the counter? Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Caitlin! I prefer to keep them in the fridge (even though it tends to dry them out over time), but it would be fine on the counter for a couple days. The frosting may get quite soft though.
Jannie says
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and definitely will come
back very soon. I want to encourage you to ultimately continue your great work, have a nice holiday weekend!
Olivia says
Thanks Jannie!
Amy Stansberry says
This cake is absolutely positively one of the best cake I have ever eaten!! I can’t choose between the parts that make it my favorite…each one is perfection! Just thinking about it makes me want to get in the kitchen to have it again!
Olivia says
Yay! So happy to hear that you liked it Amy 🙂
jeri says
This was delicious! I wish I had thought to candy the pecans I used as decorations. I think that would have put it over the top. Thanks for the great recipes!
Olivia says
So glad you liked it Jeri! And I agree, candied pecans would be perfect!!
Emily says
This looks sooo good! Unfortunately I am allergic to corn is there a sub that can work in place of the corn starch?
Olivia says
Hi Emily! There are a few things you can try to replace the cornstarch: http://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/cooking-questions/constarch-substitutes
Alexis says
I want to use the cake recipe for cupcakes. Bake time for cupcakes?
Olivia says
Hi Alexis! Start checking the cupcakes at 15mins.
Luquita says
You might go online and look at Ellis Brothers Nuts in middle Ga. You might find the nuts cheaper. They are open year round and they ship nuts. Love the store in person-always have samples of the nuts. It may be more expensive-just not sure. This cake looks amazing. Happy Holidays.
Olivia says
Thanks for the tip Luquita! Happy Holidays to you as well 🙂