Vanilla Pecan Cake Recipe
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Vanilla Pecan Cake Recipe

What do you get when you mix pecans coated with maple syrup and butter, with a light swiss meringue buttercream, and a vanilla bean cake? An amazingly delicious Vanilla Pecan Cake that is sure to be a hit with any nut or non-nut lovers you may know. And don't be deceived by the simple look of this cake. One bite and anyone is sure to be wowed by the complex flavors and textures... just be ready to have a backup cake handy just in case the first one goes too quickly.

Before You Get Started Making Vanilla Pecan Cake


Measure/Weigh all the ingredients
Take eggs, milk, butter out of the refrigerator beforehand to come to room temperature
Grease/flour cake pans and line with parchment paper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)
For the Swiss Meringue Frosting, it's very important to wipe down your heatproof bowl, whisk attachment, and whisk with lemon juice or vinegar to get rid of any grease residue. Grease will deflate the meringue

Vanilla Pecan Cake Ingredients And Amounts (Yields Two 9-inch cake pans or Three 6-inch cake pans)


Vanilla Bean Cake

2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp (301g) cake flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp (15g) baking powder
3/4 tsp (4g) salt
1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter - softened and cut into pieces
5 (150g) egg whites - room temperature
1 cup (242g) whole milk (separated into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
2 1/2 tsp (10g) vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

10 (300g) egg whites - room temperature
2 cups + 2 tbsp (424g) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 & 1/2 cups (568g) unsalted butter - room temperature
4 tbsp (60g) vanilla bean paste - see notes below for variations

Buttered Pecans

1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter
1 2/3 cup (213g) chopped pecans
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp (41g) maple syrup

Vanilla Pecan Cake Step-By-Step Directions


Vanilla Bean Cake

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

2) In a bowl, combine egg whites, 1/4 cup of milk, and vanilla. Whisk lightly and set aside.

3) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or mixing bowl if using a handheld mixer) sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt together.

4) Add in the sugar and mix on low speed for 15-20 seconds or until dry ingredients are mixed well.

5) Next, add in the softened butter pieces and 3/4 cup of milk, mixing on low speed for 20 seconds, or until the dry ingredients are moistened. Then increase the speed to med-high and beat for 2 full minutes.

6) Turn mixer down to low speed, and in 3 separate additions, pour in the egg mixture set aside from Step 2, making sure to mix the egg in completely after each addition (20-30 seconds).

7) Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to make sure the cake batter is combined well.

8) Pour batter into pans and level.

9) Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Begin checking your cake at 25 minutes, checking it every 2-3 minutes, making sure not to over bake the vanilla bean cake.

10) Once the cakes are done, cool in the cake pans for twenty minutes and then turn over onto a cooling rack.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Frosting (Yields ~8 cups)

1) Put an inch or two of water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.

2) Place egg whites, sugar, and salt in a heatproof bowl (we like to use our stand mixer bowl), and place on the saucepan with the simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water.

3) Whisk egg whites slowly but constantly so the egg whites heat up but don't cook (if you do end up with scrambled egg whites, just discard and start again).

4) Whisk until a thermometer reads 160 degrees (F).

5) When the egg whites reach 160 degrees (F), take the bowl off the saucepan (be careful bowl is hot), wipe the condensation off of the bottom of the bowl, and place on stand mixer with whisk attachment.

6) Start turning your mixer up slowly to #8 (high speed), leaving it there until you see all the steam escape. Once you don't see any more steam, turn up mixer to #10 (highest speed).

7) Let this mix for about 10 minutes. Your egg whites should be mixing up nicely at this point and the outside of the bowl should start to cool down (If after ten minutes your bowl is still warm, keep mixing, your bowl should feel about room temperature).

8) Once your egg whites are thick and glossy, and the outside of the bowl has cooled down, switch to the paddle attachment, turn down your mixer to stir, and put in your butter. You can put the butter in by chunks or by pieces, whatever you prefer, just make sure the butter is room temp, or only slightly chilled.

9) Your meringue will go through many stages: soupy, curdled, and then miraculously silky and beautiful. Don't panic if you're watching the frosting and it looks like it wont come together, it simply takes time (~10 min).

10) Once it's silky and smooth, add the vanilla bean paste and stir until combined. Voila!

Buttered Pecans

1) In a medium saute pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add a pinch of salt.

2) Once the butter is melted, add the pecans and stir together well.

3) Cook the pecans for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the butter foams up and covers the pecans, remove from the heat.

4) Drain the buttered pecans onto a paper towel lined plate. Once drained, spoon pecans into a bowl and stir in maple syrup. Set the pecans aside to cool.

Vanilla Pecan Cake Assembly

1) On a cake board, stack your vanilla bean cake layers with a layer of swiss meringue frosting and a layer of buttered pecans. Continue to stack and layer as desired.

2) Completely cover the cake in plastic wrap and set in fridge to settle for a few hours or overnight if possible.

3) After the cake has settled, frost the cake with the swiss meringue frosting. Pipe a border on top and bottom edge with a #21 tip and place the rest of the buttered pecans on top.
Vanilla Pecan Cake

Vanilla Pecan Cake Sweet Notes


We like to freeze our cake layers if we are not eating the cake that day. Let cake layers cool in their pans for twenty minutes, then turn over onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap up the cake nicely, making sure not to push the sides of the cake in, and then wrap with a layer of aluminum foil on the outside, once again making sure not to indent the sides. The cake will still be a bit warm and the freezing will trap in the moistness
If you don't have vanilla bean paste, you can use 4 tbsp of vanilla extract. You can even do a variety of vanillas. Example: 3 tbsp of vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of vanilla bean paste, 2 vanilla beans with 2 tbsp of vanilla extract. All you have to remember is 1 tbsp of vanilla extract = 1 tbsp of vanilla bean paste = 1 vanilla bean. We love using vanilla bean paste because of the flavor and the nice bean speckles it gives. Our favorite vanilla bean paste is Nielsen Massey
You can store swiss meringue buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for about 2 months. Don't forget to label and date it. Take it out to come to room temperature and then re-whip the frosting for a few minutes before using. Personally, we like to use the buttercream right after making it because the consistency is nice and smooth, but it's nice to know you can store it if you need to
Recipe adapted from The Cake Bible and Three Little Blackbirds
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