The delicious brown butter maple frosting perfectly complements the butter pecan cake. The one thing that excites me most about our usually minimal Thanksgiving spread is that one big dessert that I make each year, which is NOT pumpkin pie or pecan pie. I do make classic pumpkin pie or crustless pumpkin pie, or even a spiced cake variant, like this easy carrot cake or banana layer cake for Thanksgiving. But this butter pecan cake is quite possibly my most favorite Thanksgiving dessert ever! This spiced bourbon butter pecan cake is a stunning Thanksgiving- and autumn-worthy, delicious centerpiece on your table, next to that big fat turkey! This is a soft, tender, moist, cinnamon-spiced pecan cake that’s loaded with pecans and molassy cinnamon flavor, and soaked with a delicious bourbon syrup and sandwiched between an addictive brown butter maple frosting. As far as Thanksgiving recipes go, this one steals the show! This cake is also quite simple to make. I had all the ingredients measured out and prepared, and then all I had to do was add them in – one at a time, while mixing them in. Easy peasy. I wanted a cake that had great pecan flavor THROUGHOUT the cake. First I made the cake with just the addition of chopped pecans, and while it was nice, I wanted the pecan flavor to be more pronounced. So I decided to add not just chopped pecans for texture and flavor, but also ground pecans to really enhance that flavor in this pecan cake. The pecans are toasted in the oven and then a portion of it is ground to make pecan “flour”. Then ground pecan is folded through the batter along with the flour so that you end up with delicious buttery pecan flavor throughout the cake layer, with additional pecan bits in there too. You can tell how much this cake is going to taste of pecans just by the number of times I’ve used the word pecan in this paragraph! 🙂 You can make the cake with pecan pieces, as they are cheaper, but also get some pecan halves to decorate the cake as well. And if pecans are not feasible, you can use walnuts instead too. The brown sugar not only adds flavor, but keeps the cake moist too.
Can I make this butter pecan cake ahead of time?
Yes, you can make the spiced bourbon butter pecan cake layers ahead of time. Keep the parchment paper on the bottom and let the cake cool down completely. Then wrap each layer with plastic wrap (I like to double wrap), and then loosely again with foil, and freeze the cake layers for up to 2 months. Just make sure to let the cake layers de-frost in the fridge overnight, before you use them again. The bourbon syrup is very simple to make as well, although you CAN leave it out if you like. The cake is still deliciously moist without the syrup, but the addition of the bourbon makes this butter pecan cake even more moist. The syrup isn’t overwhelming at all in terms of flavor, and it provides a lovely balance of bourbon and pecan flavors to make this cake even more spectacular. The brown butter maple frosting comes together really quickly too. You can make the frosting with plain unsalted butter if you like something quick and easy. BUT to really kick it up a notch, I would highly recommend caramelizing the butter to make brown butter the day before, and then let the brown butter solidify to make the frosting. You guys know how much I love brown butter (see my guide on how to make brown butter!), and how that simple change really transforms the flavor profile with its nutty, toasty flavors. Most importantly, the brown butter maple frosting perfectly complements the flavors of this spiced butter pecan cake. For more brown butter inspired desserts, check out this easy brown butter baked bananas foster, or these brown butter madeleines, or this super versatile and delicious brown butter butterscotch chocolate fudge sauce! This butter pecan cake is going to be a show stopper at your Thanksgiving! It’s all the flavors of a pecan pie in a cake, and it tastes just as heavenly as it looks. The cake is full of pecan, brown butter and cinnamon flavor, with a hint of bourbon. The brown butter maple frosting is perfectly nutty and creamy. If you liked this spiced butter pecan cake with brown butter maple frosting recipe, don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, YOU TUBE and GOOGLE-PLUS too.
