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
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.
Do you know if this would taste good with a white cake mix? I have everything to make this delicious recipe EXCEPT the yellow/butter cake mix! Can’t wait to try it–thanks for sharing.
SOUNDS GOOD AND I LOVE YOUR ATTITUDE~~~ PRAYING FOR A SPEEDY RECOVERY FOR YOU!
Christy, that’s so funny. I have never eaten a pee-kan in my life! I’ve always eaten pah-kohn. That’s the Cajun French way to say it. Just tastes better, lol.
Horrified at your accident but very impressed with the way you’ve mostly smiled about it. God Bless you and your family. Prayers and happy thoughts going your way…
This sounds delicious! I’m definitely making it for Thanksgiving, since my brother’s favorite dessert is pecan pie. But I surely can’t wait that long to try it, so we might have to taste test it this weekend. 😉
P.S. We say puh-kahn also. I can remember my dad telling my brother and I to go out and pick up puh-kahn’s from my great aunt’s three puh-kahn trees. We’d gather up an entire black trash bag full every fall and crack and eat them while watching movies through the winter. Good times, great memories! 🙂
Already filing this one away for Thanksgiving! Sounds delicious! Sending (more) thoughts and prayers your way, Christy!
Christy I went and got the stuff to make 2 of these for the volunteers at the animal shelter where my daughter and volunteer to photograph the animals. I toasted the pecans for one and the other I went straight by the recipe and the one with the toasted nuts seemed to taste the best to me. But that’s just my opinion as I have always felt toasting nuts brings out the flavor. It’s like it wakes them up and they come alive. GREAT RECIPE CHRISTY KEEP EM’ COMIN’!
My son is coming from Little Rock this weekend and to celebrate his 33rd birthday (man, I feel old) I’m gonna make this pecan pie cake. He loves pecan pie and he can take the leftovers home. I sure don’t need `em staring at me when I’m scouting around at midnight for a “snack”.