This recipe takes everything you love about pecan pie – sticky caramel sauce, buttery pecans, and fragrant vanilla, combined with a moist and tender cake. This showstopping dessert is flavorful, cozy, and indulgent.
Jump to:
What sets this recipe apart
Two in one: This recipe is a mashup between a pecan pie and a pecan cake.
Upside down: The caramel pecan topping is baked at the bottom of the pan, under the cake. After baking the cake gets flipped, revealing a beautiful (and delicious) topping.
Extra caramel sauce: Reserve some of the caramel sauce to drizzle on each slice when serving. This makes for a pretty presentation and extra sticky-sweet goodness!
No corn syrup: Just like my maple pecan pie and pecan bars, I skip the corn syrup and use maple syrup which pairs perfectly with the pecans.
Visual recipe overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Caramel topping
Make the brown sugar caramel sauce by simmering butter, brown sugar, cream, and syrup. Reserve ½ cup (for garnish) and stir pecans into the rest.
Pecan cake
Make the pecan cake batter. No electric mixer needed, just a whisk and silicone spatula.
Assemble
Place the pecan-caramel sauce in the bottom of the pan and top with cake batter.
Bake
Bake the cake for 33-38 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter.
Recipe success tips
Line the pan: Line the bottom of your cake pan with parchment paper. This ensures that the sticky caramel topping releases easily.
Use the proper pan size: This recipe is made in a 9-inch round cake pan with 2-inch high sides. Using a smaller pan get result in overflow and a big mess in your oven.
Chopping pecans: I recommend finely chopping the pecans that go in the cake batter so that they distribute evenly in little pieces. The pecans for the topping should be left a bit larger for prettier presentation.
Serving suggestions
This cake is best served slightly warm or at room temperature, drizzled with the reserved caramel sauce. Reheat the reserved caramel topping as needed in the microwave.
This cake is quite rich, small slices go a long way. Serve as-is, it really doesn’t need anything else. If you’d like to make it extra indulgent, add whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
BAKE SMARTER, NOT HARDER
Get tested recipes, baking tips, and exclusive content delivered right to your inbox.
Recipe
Pecan Pie Cake
Ingredients
Caramel Pecan Topping:
- ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- ½ cup (105g) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- ¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
- ¼ cup (60ml) pure maple syrup
- couple pinches salt
- 1 cup (110g) coarsely chopped pecans
Cake:
- 1½ cups (188g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled or weighed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (180g) sour cream
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (120ml) vegetable or canola oil
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60ml) milk
- ½ cup (55g) finely chopped pecans
Instructions
Caramel Pecan Topping:
- Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center of the oven. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with 2-inch high sides (pan size is important here, don't try to squeeze it into a smaller pan). Lightly grease the pan and set it aside.
- In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Immediately add brown sugar, heavy cream, maple syrup, and salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once bubbling throughout, simmer for one full minute, until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Pour out about ½ cup caramel sauce and reserve it for serving the cake. Stir chopped pecans into the remaining sauce in the pan. Pour the caramel pecan sauce into the bottom of the prepared pan and gently spread it into an even layer.
Cake:
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk sour cream, eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Add half the flour mixture, whisking until almost combined. Add the milk, whisking until combined, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Tap the whisk on the side of the bowl to remove the excess batter. Stir in the finely chopped pecans with a silicone spatula, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Carefully scoop the cake batter into pan, over top of the caramel and pecans. Try not to disturb the caramel mixture underneath. Smooth the batter into an even layer. Bake for 33-38 minutes, until the cake is light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out without raw batter on . Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes (no longer).
- After 10 minutes, place your serving plate over the cake pan and carefully flip it over, inverting the cake. Remove the pan. Scoop any pecans left in the pan onto the cake. The cake might have a bare spot here or there, just use the pecans from inside the pan or on the sides, to create even coverage. Place the plate on a wire rack and allow it to cool to room temperature before serving.
Serving:
- Serve slices of cake drizzled with the reserved caramel sauce. The sauce will firm up as it cools, just gently reheat it in the microwave.
Notes
Serving and storage
Serve cake slightly warm or room temperature. Store leftover cake and sauce in the refrigerator for up to two days. Sauce will firm up as it cools, gently reheat in the microwave.Pecans
I recommend finely chopping the pecans that go in the cake batter so that they distribute evenly in little pieces. The pecans for the topping should be left a bit larger for prettier presentation.Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Leave a Reply