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    Butter Pecan Praline Cake

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    Here’s a cake as southern as the Kentucky Derby itself! Butter Pecan Praline Cake is the perfect sweet treat to make for Derby Day, but it’s a favorite for all occasions.

    This cake is so nice, I made it twice!
    Derby Day is coming up and I wanted to make something special for the occasion. A cake brimming with butter, brown sugar, and pecan flavors seems fitting. It’s a southern favorite that I make year-round. It would be great for Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, or bookmark it for Thanksgiving because those brown sugar flavors taste just right when the leaves turn.

    I couldn’t resist making a horseshoe-shaped version of this cake loaded with red roses in true derby style. The pageantry – namely the blanket of red roses draped across the winning horse’s back – is truly a sight to behold. This cake pays homage to that.
    However, the original 3-layer version is a good no-frills, all-purpose recipe. So I made it, too! And you should make it any time you crave something that tastes like it came from a southern grandma’s kitchen.

    This cake is an easy task for home bakers. The buttery layers don’t rise much in the center, so they really don’t need much leveling, if any. The buttercream frosting is loaded with finely ground pecans. It lends itself best to big swirls with an offset spatula, but you can also pipe it! The ground pecans are fine enough to pass through a decorator tip.

    The only thing more it requires is some chopped pecans pressed into the bottom edge of the cake, and a sprinkle on top.

    The horseshoe garland cake.
    Bake the batter in a 13×9 pan instead of 3 round layers. Cut a horseshoe-shaped template from a piece of parchment and tack it onto the cooled cake using toothpicks. Give it a trim with a serrated knife and save the cake scraps for breakfast (or a trifle!).

    Cover the horseshoe in a thick layer of the butter pecan frosting. In addition, you’ll need a double batch of American buttercream tinted red for the roses. You can find my recipe for that here (or in the Sprinkle Bakes book!).
    Also, you can find my buttercream rose tutorial here. The same technique applies for these roses, except you’ll make them slightly smaller and pipe the roses on a #7 flower nail head. Scoot the flower off of the nail head using some flower-lifting scissors, or a spatula.

    Place each rose side-by side on the cake. I don’t think any two of my flowers were the same – ha! My advice is to aim for beauty, not perfection. Those are two very different things, in my opinion.

    So, now I have two Butter Pecan Praline cakes – guess I’d better get to sharing! I don’t think I’ll have a problem finding any takers, do you?
    The recipe below gives the instructions for the 9-inch round layer cake, and you’ll find directions for the horseshoe cake in the recipe notes.

    Butter Pecan Praline Cake

    Heather Baird

    This Butter Pecan Praline Cake is a southern favorite. It’s perfect for Derby Day, but it’s welcome at our table at any time of year!Be sure to use the spoon and sweep method when measuring the flour, and sift it so the baked cake has a light, fluffy texture.

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    Prep Time 25 minsCook Time 30 minsTotal Time 55 mins

    Course DessertCuisine American, Southern United States

    Servings 12

    Equipment3 round cake pans, 9 inches each
    Ingredients  Brown sugar cake layers3 cups all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1 cup unsalted butter room temperature1 cup light brown sugar1 1/2 cups granulated sugar4 large eggs room temperature1 tablespoon vanilla extract1 1/4 cups whole milkButtercream pecan frosting2/3 cup unsalted butter6 cups powdered sugar1/2 cup heavy cream or milk1 tablespoon vanilla extract1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt1 cup pecans finely ground1 cup chopped pecans
    Instructions Brown sugar cake layersPreheat oven to 350 °F. Spray three 9″ round cake pans with flour-based cooking spray.Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix well with each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until well-blended.Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Add in all the milk; mix well. Add remaining flour mixture and combine until just incorporated. Using a large rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl and fold together by hand so that all ingredients are well incorporated.Divide batter evenly into the prepared pans, slightly more than 2 cups of batter per pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan 7-10 minutes. Turn layers out of pans to rest a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.Butter Pecan FrostingIn the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Drizzle in a little heavy cream. Gradually add remaining powdered sugar alternating with the heavy cream. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula so that all ingredients are well incorporated. Add vanilla and salt; beat well. Beat in the 1 cup of finely ground pecans.Fill cakes with the frosting and stack; coat the outside of the cake with a thin crumb coat of frosting. Refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes. Cover the outside of the cake with swirls of frosting. Press chopped pecans onto the bottom edge of the cake. Transfer leftover frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. Pipe stars around the top edge of the cake. Immediately sprinkle chopped pecans over the stars.
    NotesFor the horseshoe cake, bake the cake batter in a 13×9 inch pan for about 50 minutes. Tent the top of the cake if it begins to overbrown.
    Lay a piece of parchment paper flat on a work surface. Lay the bottom of a 13×9 inch pan on the parchment and trace around it. Cut out the shape. Draw a horseshoe within the shape and cut it out to use as a template. Lay the template on the baked, cooled cake and tack down onto the cake with toothpicks. Carve around the cake using a serrated knife. Save cake scraps for cake pops, trifles, or snacking.
    Make the butter pecan buttercream as directed and frost the entire cake. Tint two batches of American buttercream red (scroll to the bottom of this post for recipe). Pipe roses using #104 petal tip onto #7 flower nails (see this post for buttercream roses tutorial). Transfer to the top of the horseshoe cake using flower lifting scissors or a spatula.

    Keyword brown sugar cake, butter pecan frosting

    You may also enjoy: LEGGI TUTTO

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    • in Recipes

      Wild Strawberry and Lemon Verbena Layer Cake

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      Alternating flavors of wild strawberry and lemon verbena are stacked, filled, and frosted with tangy lemon Swiss meringue buttercream in this spring-inspired cake.I think we’re all in need of some happy colors and springtime flavors just about now. This cake is absolutely bursting with beautiful, bright flavors thanks to some special, new-to-me ingredients. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to try products by Amoretti, makers of artisan flavorings. I absolutely loved the results, so I had to share them here!

      This recipe begins with my favorite white cake recipe, which happens to use white cake mix as an ingredient. It’s adapted from the popular White Almond Sour Cream (WASC) cake by Rebecca Sutterby, which is famous with bakers of wedding cakes. I always use it when I need colors and flavors to ‘pop’ because it is the perfect blank canvas with which to work.

      Amoretti flavors are easy to use, and because they are so concentrated just a little goes a long way. The naturally flavored Wild Strawberry Compound gave the cake layers sweet, bold berry flavor. It is perhaps my favorite of all the ingredients I tried. Its aroma was intoxicating and it has the appearance of strawberries that have been cooked down like jam.The Lemon Verbena Swirl was pungent upon first sniff, but added to cake batter, it mellowed and gave the finished layers a wonderfully fresh herbaceous note. I can’t wait to use it in my favorite Orange Pound Cake recipe.
      I also had the opportunity to test their oil soluble Wild Strawberry Extract. Oil soluble flavoring can be added to chocolate without fear of it seizing. I added a small dose to two melted white chocolate Baker’s bars (along with some red powdered food color) for the prettiest and tastiest chocolate curls!
      The entire cake is wrapped in silky Swiss meringue buttercream flavored with Natural Lemon Artisan Extract.
      We relished every last bite of this delicious cake, and I’m eager to experiment with more of Amoretti’s flavors. If you’d like to try them for yourself, right now you can receive a 15% discount on your order using the code SPRINGBAKING at Amoretti.com.Enjoy!

      Wild Strawberry and Lemon Verbena Layer CakeYields One 6-inch four layer cakeThis recipe is adapted from the ever-popular WASC cake formula by Rebecca Sutterby. Swiss meringue buttercream recipe is from the Sprinkle Bakes book.Prep: 45 minutes, total time about 3 hoursThis cake starts with a box of white cake mix but is improved upon with additions of sugar, flour, sour cream and delicious flavorings by Amoretti (see blog post for resources).Wild Strawberry and lemon verbena cake layers1 box (16.25 oz.) white cake mix1 cup (128g) all-purpose flour1 cup(200g) granulated sugarPinch of salt1 cup (242g) sour cream1 cup (8 oz.) cold water3 large eggs3 tablespoons Amoretti Wild Strawberry Compound2 tablespoons Amoretti Lemon Verbena Swirl1-2 drops liquid red food color (optional)1 drop yellow food color (optional)Preheat oven to 350◦F. Coat four 6-inch round cake pans with flour-based baking spray.Whisk together the first 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a four-cup measure, stir together the sour cream, water, and eggs. With a hand mixer running on low speed, gradually pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl down and mix again until all ingredients are consistently incorporated. Divide the cake batter into two mixing bowls. To one bowl add the three tablespoons wild strawberry compound and mix well by hand (also add the optional red food color, if desired). To the other bowl, add the lemon verbena swirl and mix well by hand (also add the optional yellow food color, if desired). Divide the wild strawberry batter between two pans; divide the lemon verbena batter between the remaining two pans.Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, or until they spring back when pressed in their centers. Let cool in the pans 5 minutes; turn out on wire racks to cool completely. Level cakes using a cake leveler or serrated knife.Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream5 egg whites1 cup (200g) sugarPinch of salt1 lb. unsalted butter, cubed, softened (room temperature works too, but takes longer to come together)2 teaspoons Amoretti Natural Lemon Artisan FlavorSet a saucepan filled one-third full of water over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl (I suggest a stainless bowl). Set over the simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar has dissolved (120-140 degrees on a candy thermometer, to be sure).Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Increase to medium-high until stiff peaks are formed.Continue beating at medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and has cooled (the mixing bowl should feel cool to the touch).Turn the mixer off and switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle. Turn the mixer on medium-low and add the butter, a few cubes at a time, beating until well incorporated before the next addition. The mixture will deflate with the butter addition, this is normal – keep going – adding butter a little at a time. When all of the butter is incorporated, increase the speed to high and beat until thick and smooth. Add the lemon flavoring and beat again until incorporated.Frost the cake: Place a lemon verbena layer on a cake plate. Top it with approximately 1/2 cup of lemon buttercream and spread evenly. Center a wild strawberry cake layer on top of the frosting and top with 1/2 cup lemon buttercream; Repeat this process with the remaining lemon verbena layer and end with the final wild strawberry layer on top. Use the remaining frosting to cover the outside of the cake. Smooth using a cake smoother or an offset spatula. Refrigerate the cake until the frosting is firm, about 25 minutes.Strawberry-white chocolate curls and other garnishes8 oz. white chocolate, chopped (tested with Baker’s chocolate)1 teaspoon Amoretti Oil Soluble Wild Strawberry Extract2-3 drops pink or red oil soluble food color (or stir in a little red petal dust)2-3 whole strawberries with stemsWhite food safe flowers or other food-safe greeneryMelt chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals; stir until smooth. Turn a cookie sheet upside-down and pour on the chocolate. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Place in the refrigerator for 5-7 minutes, or until the chocolate is firm and has a matte appearance.Remove from refrigerator and let stand for a few minutes (3-5ish) at room temperature. With a small, sharp spatula, begin scraping chocolate at one edge in a thin strip. If chocolate breaks into pieces it is too cold, so allow it to stand a few minutes more at room temp. Chocolate should curl easily as you run your spatula under the chocolate and down the length of the cookie sheet. Place curls in a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready for use. Chocolate melts at body temperature, so handle them as little as possible. If you have particularly hot hands, use a spoon to transfer the curls to the top of the cake.Garnish cake with chocolate curls, whole strawberries with stems and food safe flowers. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator loosely covered with plastic wrap.
      link Wild Strawberry and Lemon Verbena Layer Cake By Heather Baird Published: Monday, March 16, 2020Monday, March 16, 2020Wild Strawberry and Lemon Verbena Layer Cake Recipe LEGGI TUTTO