Pecan Pie Cake
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This Southern pecan pie cake recipe features all those irresistible pecan pie flavors in cake form. With a caramelized brown sugar and pecan layer on top of the cake, it’s decadent and delicious!
Hands up who loves pecan pie? It’s definitely one of the most popular desserts to enjoy during the holidays and throughout fall. There’s just something about the delicious combination of caramelized brown sugar and chopped pecans that has you coming back for more, right?
Well, with this pecan pie cake recipe (a Southern dessert specialty I might add), we take those flavors and add them on top of a box cake mix. The end result is a cake that’s decadent, rich, and moist. It’s almost like a dump cake!
Fortunately, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to make this delicious holiday dessert. All you need are 7 ingredients (cake mix, butter, light corn syrup, eggs, dark brown sugar, vanilla, and pecans) and a stand mixer. Once you mix and bake the cake layer, you then mix and bake the gooey and sweet pecan pie layer. That’s it! Enjoy a slice of pecan pie cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
Speaking of Thanksgiving and Christmas, a few of my other favorite desserts include my easy pumpkin pie recipe from scratch, pecan pie cheesecake, pumpkin praline cake with cream cheese icing, and loaded sweet potatoes with marshmallows.
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter cake or yellow cake mix
- Melted butter (or margarine)
- Light corn syrup
- Eggs
- Dark brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Chopped pecans
How to Make Pecan Pie Cake
Mix the cake mix, 1 egg, and melted butter until well blended.
Reserve 2/3 cup of this batter.
Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
Spread the remaining cake batter into this pan and bake at 325 for 15 minutes, or until just lightly brown.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the reserved 2/3 cup of batter, syrup, remaining eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and pecans.
Pour the on top of the cake layer.
Cook at 325 for 50-60 minutes or until set in the center.
Doesn’t that look exactly like a pecan pie?
But hiding underneath is a fluffy cake. What more could you want?
Allow the cake to cool completely before serving.
Enjoy!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I recommend reheating leftovers quickly in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- Use any box cake mix you like. You might even want to enhance the pecan flavor and opt for a butter pecan cake mix.
- You can use salted or unsalted butter. If you choose the latter, I’d also add a pinch of salt.
- You can also use either or dark .
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve pecan pie cake?
There’s nothing better than a slice of Southern pecan pie cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But it also tastes great on its own or with some fresh whipped cream.
You may also like these other pecan recipes:
Butter Pecan Shortbread Chippers
Candied Pecans Recipe: Family and Friends Favorite
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake or butter cake mix
- 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine, I don’t judge
- 1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Instructions
- Mix cake mix, 1 egg, and melted butter until well blended. Reserve 2/3 cup of this batter.1 box yellow cake or butter cake mix, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter
- Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Spread the remaining cake batter into this pan and bake at 325 for 15 minutes, or until just lightly browned.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the reserved 2/3 cup of batter, syrup, 3 eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and pecans.1 1/2 cups light corn syrup, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
- Pour the pecan mixture on top of the cake layer and cook at 325 for 50-60 minutes, until set in the center.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before serving.
Enjoy!
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Nutrition
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I made this cake and it was awesome! I made it and took it to Homecoming at my church without trying it first. I was asked if I had tried it and I replied no but I got it from Christy Jordan on Southern Plate and I know it’s good! You didn’t let me down! Thank you so much!
Does anyone know how to contact Christy? Someone has stolen her recipe (pics and all) as their own and has claimed it as theirs; Southern Plate is not referenced anywhere: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3265423052226&set=a.1029645359181.4324.1766786949&type=1
Thank you for letting me know Jessa. I read each and every comment and I appreciate you getting in touch with me and bringing it to my attention.
Love southern food and all your wonderful recipes! Now, if we can just get rid of all the GMO corn (corn syrup) and other ingredients, so I can make these quick and easy delectable recipes again! Noticed you can get a mostly non-GMO corn syrup on Amazon. Shame on Monsanto for ruining so many good foods for me and so many others! Nevertheless, thanks very much for sharing this recipe and many others! For now, I’m substituting “Steen’s Cane Syrup” for the “dark Karo syrup” in recipes (works great btw) and “Lyle’s Golden Syrup” for the “light Karo Syrup” in recipes. They work well as substitutions! BioTech ruined all the wonderful Duncan Hines Cake Mixes too as now they have GMO soybean oil, GMO canola oil, and GMO sugar beet sugar in them. So sad : ( Hey, but you can always make a scratch yellow cake instead, just check out what the chickens who laid the eggs were fed, because some are raised on GMO canola oil and GMO corn, which have been sprayed with Round Up and/or BT.
Love your postings and am sitting here laughing at you and the bug. I didn’t have two broken legs but had had hip replacement in one leg and then the nerve in other leg went bonkers so was on walker so could just see myself trying to get away from the bug but would have done the same thing you did. Just had to laugh. Your writing are fantastic and such a blessing. I am so happy that you are doing so good, God is great. I am definitely going to make this recipe. Take care and God Bless, watch those bugs.
I hope you enjoy the recipe Charlotte and I am definitely avoiding bugs!!
I took this pecan pie cake to our SS class breakfast! What a HUGE hit! Your recipies make me look like a cooking genius!!!
Love you!
Christy,
this is my first time on your site and wow! I really enjoy your thoughts and the inspiration of this post. I can’t wait to try this pecan pie cake recipe…it sounds awesome!
Welcome to Southern Plate Rita!!! I hope you get to try the cake soon!
Christy – I’m making this for my Sunday School breakfast this week! They are gonna love it!!
Love you and still praying for you.