Southern Pecan Caramel Cake
Butter cake layers with toasted pecans and a cooked brown sugar caramel frosting.
Equipment
- Two 9 inch round cake pans
- Electric mixer
- Saucepan
- Wire rack
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 2 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt 1/2 for the cake, 1/4 for the frosting
- 2 cup unsalted butter 1 cup softened for the cake, 1 cup for the frosting
- 2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 3 tsp vanilla extract 2 for the cake, 1 for the frosting
- 1 ¼ cup whole milk 1 cup for the cake, 1/4 cup for the frosting
- 1 cup chopped pecans toasted
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 cup powdered sugar sifted
- ¼ cup pecan halves for garnish
Instructions
Cooking
- Make the batter. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs and vanilla, then alternate the dry mix and milk and fold in the pecans.
- Bake the layers. Divide between two greased 9 inch pans and bake 28 to 32 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then cool completely on racks.
- Cook the caramel. Boil the butter, brown sugar, milk, and salt for 1 minute and cool for 10 minutes.
- Frost. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla, spread between the layers and over the cake, and top with pecan halves.
Notes
Substitutions: Use walnuts in place of pecans or omit the nuts. A 9x13 pan bakes in 35 to 40 minutes.
Tips: Cool the cooked caramel for 10 minutes before beating in the powdered sugar and loosen with a little milk if needed.
Storage: Cover at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days. Freeze unfrosted layers up to 2 months.