Butter Pecan Pound Cake
Butter Pecan Pound Cake takes the classic, sweet flavor and moist texture of pound cake and kicks it up with the addition of chopped pecans in the batter and a finishing touch of cream cheese frosting and candied pecans.
Pound cake is a classic dessert that everyone seems to love. We certainly do! We also love playing with recipes, so we took a classic pound cake and added chopped pecans, sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting, and candied pecans to finish off the look and the flavor.
This rich, decadent cake is amazing for weeknight desserts, and it’s a major crowd-pleaser at potlucks and parties. Everyone always loves it, and you’ll love how easy it is to make!
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It uses basic baking ingredients you can find in your kitchen and grocery store.
- It’s an easy recipe that even beginners can make.
- The cream cheese frosting and candied pecans work perfectly with the moist, tender pound cake.
- It’s a versatile recipe perfect for weeknight desserts or parties.
🛒Ingredients
The ingredients for the cake, frosting, and candied pecans are all simple ones that you can find at any grocery store. You probably won’t have to shop for too many of them, though. Most of them are already in your kitchen!
All the ingredients are listed here, but you can find the exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
For the Pound Cake
- Butter – softened
- Cream cheese – softened
- Sugar
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Cake flour
- Salt
- Chopped pecans
Frosting
- Cream cheese – softened
- Butter – softened
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
For the Candied Pecans
- Pecan halves – unchopped
- Sugar
- Butter
🔪 How to Make Butter Pecan Pound Cake
Making this recipe is simple and straightforward. The cake, frosting, and candied pecans all only take a few simple steps, and even beginners will have no problem with any of them.
Step 1: Prep
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and spray a 10-cup bundt pan with cooking spray containing flour.
Step 2: Combine the Wet Cake Ingredients
Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Then, add the sugars and beat again. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well mixed, followed by the vanilla.
Step 3: Add the Dry Ingredients
Fold the flour into the wet ingredients with a spatula until incorporated. Then, add the pecans and continue to fold until the batter is smooth.
Step 4: Bake the Cake
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and baked for 90 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 5: Cool
Remove the cake from the oven and cool it in the bundt pan for 10 minutes. Then, invert the pan on a wire rack, turn out the cake, and let it cool completely.
Step 6: Make the Frosting
Beat the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl until fluffy. Then, add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat again until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Step 7: Make the Candied Pecans
Cook the pecans, butter, and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly to uniformly coat the nuts and brown them evenly. When browned, spread them out on parchment paper to cool.
Step 8: Decorate the Cake
Chop the candied pecans into small pieces. Then, frost the cooled cake with a spatula or butter knife, covering the top and halfway down the sides. Sprinkle the frosting with the candied pecans.
📝Variations
Do you want to change up this recipe and make it your own? Here are some ways that you can do that!
- You can use a baking dish to make a sheet cake if you don’t have a bundt pan.
- Use your favorite nuts to create various kinds of pound cake flavors. They’re all tasty.
- If you’re not a frosting fan, just make a simple vanilla glaze.
For more butter pecan deliciousness, check out our butter pecan snowball cookies.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 10-cup bundt pan
- Mixing bowls
- Spatula
- Wire cooling rack
- Saucepan
- Parchment paper
🥫 Storage
Refrigerate this cake in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze the cake wrapped tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil for up to a month.
What to Serve with Butter Pecan Pound Cake
This rich, delicious butter pecan pound cake is yummy with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. You can also serve it with fresh berries on the side to compliment the rich flavor of the cake and frosting.
💭 Tips
- Be sure you fully soften your cream cheese and butter for the best cake and frosting texture.
- Keep the heat low when making the candied pecans, so they caramelize without burning.
- Stir the pecans constantly while candying them to prevent scorching.
- Using non-stick spray WITH flour is extremely important to prevent your cake from sticking to the bundt pan.
- Use even, controlled passes when spraying your pan to ensure you cover every nook and cranny of its interior.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Butter pecan has a sweet flavor with a bitter past. According to most, butter pecan originated in the South during the Jim Crow era when Black people weren’t allowed to eat vanilla ice cream. They added buttered, candied pecans to create the butter pecan flavor used in ice cream and so many baked goods today.
If you use heat too high or don’t stir the pecans constantly, they can burn extremely easily.
A cake should be completely cool before it is frosted. If it’s even a little warm, the frosting will melt and slide off of the cake.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy bundt cake? Then try these delicious recipes:
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe so you can find it later.
Butter Pecan Pound Cake
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- 10-cup bundt pan
- mixing bowls
- Spatula
- Wire cooling rack
- Saucepan
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cup brown sugar
- 6 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 ¼ cuos cake flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Candied Pecans
- 1 cup pecan halves don’t chop before cooking
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 10-cup bundt pan with cooking spray containing flour. This is very important to allow your cake to release.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add in the sugars and continue to cream. Add in the eggs, one at a time until well mixed. Add in the vanilla.
- Using a spatula, fold in the flour until it’s incorporated and then add the pecans and continue to fold until the batter is smooth. Pour into the cake pan and bake for 90 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Place on a rack for 10 minutes before inverting to fully cool on a rack.
- In a medium sized bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, place the butter, sugar and pecans. Slowly melt the sugar and butter while constantly stirring to coat the nuts and have them brown evenly. Once they are coated and the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and spread the nuts on parchment paper to cool. Once cool, chop into small pieces.
- Using a butter knife or spatula, spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake and about halfway down the sides. Sprinkle nuts around the top as desired.
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
