Butter Pecan Cake (3,000 to 6,500 feet altitude)
A brown sugar butter cake, made with toasted pecans and sour cream
Servings: 12 Servings
Calories: 350kcal
Equipment
- 2 9" Round Cake Pans
- Food Processor or Small nut grinder
Ingredients
Toasted Pecans
- 1 1/2 Cups Pecans
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Butter Pecan Cake
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour (PLUS 2 Tablespoons) 290 g
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar (LESS 1 1/2 Tablespoons) 210 g
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar Light or Dark, 111 g
- 8 tbsp Butter Softened
- 3 lg Eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Maple Extract
- 2/3 Cup Sour Cream
- 1 Cup Whole Milk
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz Cream Cheese Softened, room temperature (very important)
- 4 tbsp Butter Softened, room temperature
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar Use soft sugar - cannot be dried out. See notes below to re-soften hard sugar.
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Maple Extract
- Salt pinch
- 2 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Toasted Pecan Chips
Instructions
Toasted Pecans
- Use pecan chips or chop whole pecans into small pieces, about the size of a pea.
- Melt butter in a large bowl and whisk in cinnamon. Add pecans and toss to coat.
- Spread buttered pecans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Sil-Pat and toast in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes, tossing once or twice to turn.
- Watch carefully as nuts will burn very quickly if you aren't careful!
- Remove from oven and place in a bowl to cool. Set aside 1/2 cup of chips for the frosting, another 1/2 cup for the cake. Pour the remaining nuts in a food processor or small Bullet-style nut grinder and grind to a paste.
Cake - High Altitude
- Increase the oven heat to 375° F (190 °C)
- Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars.
- Blend in the eggs.
- Blend in the extracts and sour cream.
- Add 1/3 of the flour and mix until blended. Add 1/2 the milk and repeat. Continue until you've added all the flour and milk.
- Finally, add in the pecan butter from the food processor or grinder and the 1/2 cup of pecans. Mix thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 30 minutes, or until cake just begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and the center springs back at the touch.
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for ten minutes, then invert to remove from pans completely. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool completely.
Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the room-temperature cream cheese and butter. (If it's too cold, the brown sugar will not dissolve properly).
- Add the brown sugar and mix until light and fluffy. This will take a while - you want the texture to be smooth and not gritty.
- Mix in the extracts and pinch of salt.
- Mix in powdered sugar, one cup at a time until well-blended.
- Frost completely-cooled cakes and top with remaining pecan chips.
Notes
Toasting nuts - you just have to watch them every second. One minute they're fine, and the next they're burned. Even a little scorching will flavor everything they touch, so do be careful.
The cake itself is simple, but the frosting can be tricky. Be sure to use room temperature cream cheese and butter, or the brown sugar will not dissolve and your frosting will be gritty.
The brown sugar should be soft and moist, not at all dried out. If that's all you have, place the sugar in a large Ziploc bag with a slice of bread or half an apple and let sit overnight. The sugar will soften up over time.