Toasted Butter Pecan Cake

This weekend my husband and I went out of town to visit with his grandparents and meet a few family members we had never met before. I was asked if I would like to make dessert and I graciously accepted. I had not made a cake in a while so I figured that would be the perfect treat. At first I contemplated making a red velvet cake because I had never made one before but once I found this recipe for a toasted butter pecan cake I just knew I had to make it.


The recipe came together pretty easily and quickly which was a good thing since I did not get to start it until 9:00 at night! I used parchment paper on the bottom of my pans to assure that the cake did not stick. On two of my pans I used Wilton's Bake-even strips and I was amazed that they actually worked. Those two pans rose perfectly and were straight across with no sign of a hump in the middle while the pan that did not have the strip on the outside had the typical mound in the center of the pan. I highly recommend purchasing the bake-even strips if you like to see perfectly straight cake tops and do not want to worry about having to straighten them yourself.


This cake got rave reviews, everyone loved it. I thought that it was a little dry but my husband thought that I was crazy for saying that. It was nice that this cake was baked into three pans so I did not have to worry about slicing layers in half, it made the assembly that much quicker. This is a cake that I would make again, it has beautiful presentation with the nuts sprinkled on top and I like that it was paired with cream cheese frosting.


Toasted Butter Pecan Cake
Source: Taste of Home

Ingredients
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
2-2/3 cups chopped pecans
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Frosting
2 packages (one 8 ounces, one 3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup butter, softened
6-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (I felt this was to much, I only used about 5 cups)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions
In a small heavy skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add pecans; cook over medium heat until toasted, about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and remaining butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Beat just until combined. Fold in 2 cups reserved pecans. Spread evenly into three greased and waxed paper-lined 9-in. round baking pans.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Beat in enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with remaining pecans. Store in the refrigerator.