This butter pecan pound cake means business, boos. It’s loaded with pecans and topped with a bomb butter pecan icing. I already have a butter pecan layer cake recipe on the site, but this time I toasted pecans in butter to infuse the flavor into the icing. Y’all… It made the whole thing SING! If you’re a pecan lover like any good Southerner, this one’s gonna steal your heart. Get into it.
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How to Make Butter Pecan Pound Cake
Mix and Bake the Cake
Step 1: Place chopped pecans in a medium skillet over medium heat and toast until fragrant and nutty. Set aside and let it cool.
Step 2: Beat the butter and both sugars in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each and scraping the bowl as needed.
Step 3: Mix in the sweetened condensed milk until incorporated, then reduce the speed and gradually add the flour and salt in two parts, stirring just until combined without overmixing.
Step 4: Add the sour cream, vanilla, and cooled pecans, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix until just combined. Turn off the mixer.
Step 5: Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Step 6: Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool briefly in the pan, then invert onto a serving plate and allow it to cool completely before serving.
Make the Icing and Top the Cake!
Step 7: Add the butter and pecans to a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter is melted and the pecans begin to toast and become fragrant. Don’t burn the pecans.
Step 8: Strain the toasted pecans through a fine-mesh sieve over a small bowl, separating the pecans from the infused butter. Set both aside to cool until the butter reaches room temperature.
PRO TIP: You’ll know your butter is perfectly infused when it turns a light golden color and smells nutty, not burnt. Keep that heat on medium-low!
Step 9: Whisk together the pecan-infused butter with the remaining icing ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth and pourable.
Step 10: Drizzle the butter pecan icing over the cooled cake and garnish with the reserved toasted pecans.
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Butter Pecan Pound Cake Recipe
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 3 cups cake flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the Icing
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter plus 2 additional tablespoons as needed
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-2 tablespoons butter from above
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 325°F and place the rack in the middle position. Prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan by spraying liberally with nonstick baking spray.
- In a medium skillet, place chopped pecans over medium heat and toast until fragrant and nutty, about 6-8 minutes. Set aside and cool for 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add butter and both sugars and mix on high speed for 4 minutes, until fluffy and pale.
- Reduce speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, combining well after each egg, and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix until incorporated.
- Reduce the mixer to its lowest speed and slowly add flour and salt to the batter in two increments. Be careful not to overmix here.
- Lastly, add in the sour cream, vanilla, and cooled pecans, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until just combined. Turn off mixer.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then invert the cake onto a serving plate and continue cooling until completely cooled, about 1 hour.
For the Icing
- In a small skillet over medium low heat add the butter and pecans. Cook until the butter is melted and the pecans begin to toast and become fragrant, about 10 minutes. Don’t burn the pecans.
- Strain the toasted pecans through a fine-mesh sieve over a small bowl, separating the pecans from the infused butter. Set both aside to cool for 20 minutes, until the butter reaches room temperature.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pecan-infused butter with the remaining icing ingredients until smooth and pourable. Drizzle over cooled cake and garnish with the reserved toasted pecans.
Notes
How to Store
- Room Temp: Keep your Southern butter pecan pound cake covered in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Fridge: You can pop it in the fridge for up to a week. Make sure it’s sealed tight so the icing doesn’t dry out. Let it come to room temp before serving.
- Freezer: Wrap the cooled cake (or individual slices) tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. I suggest waiting to ice it until you’re ready to eat. It just tastes fresher that way. You can freeze it with the icing on, but trust me boos, freshly iced is the move. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then bring to room temp before serving.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. Once you add the flour, mix just until it comes together so your pecan pound cake stays soft and tender.
- Watch that oven! Lay a piece of foil over the top of your cake if it starts getting too brown before the middle is done.
- Cool the cake all the way before icing. If it’s even a little warm, that icing will melt right off.
- Fix your icing how you like it. Add 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar at a time if it’s too thin, or 1 teaspoon of water if it’s too thick.
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