Gooey Butter Pecan Cake
This is the best gooey butter pecan cake! It's a brown butter cake with a layer of buttered pecans, gooey cream cheese topping and salted caramel sauce. Each gooey bite is full of buttery flavor and totally melts in your mouth!
Ingredients
For the Buttered Pecans
- 2 tbsp (28 g) salted butter
- 1 1/4 cups (140 g) roughly chopped pecans
For the Brown Butter
- 1/2 cup (112 g) unsalted butter
For the Gooey Cream Cheese Layer
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups (325 g) powdered sugar
For the Brown Butter Cake
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (141 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated white sugar
- brown butter from above
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp bourbon , optional
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
For the Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
- 5 tbsp (70 g) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
For the Buttered Pecans
- Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat the add in the chopped pecans.2 tbsp (28 g) salted butter, 1 1/4 cups (140 g) roughly chopped pecans
- Toast the pecans for 3-4 minutes until fragrant, then remove from the heat and allow them to completely cool. Set aside 1/4 cup of the pecans for topping the finished cake with later.
For the Brown Butter
- Add the butter to a pot and heat it over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and come to a simmer. Simmer until the butter is foamy, giving off a nutty scent and has browned. The whole process should take about 5-6 minutes. Remove the butter from the heat and transfer it to a small bowl. Pop it in the fridge and allow it to cool completely until it is solid but still malleable.1/2 cup (112 g) unsalted butter
For the Gooey Cream Cheese Layer
- While the brown butter cools make the gooey cream cheese topping. Add the cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and mix on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes.8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- Add in the egg and egg yolk and mix on medium speed until combined.1 egg, at room temperature, 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- Then sift in the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing on low then medium speed until all is combined. Set aside.2 1/2 cups (325 g) powdered sugar
For the Brown Butter Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then set aside the dry ingredients.1 cup + 2 tbsp (141 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled , 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/8 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt
- In a large bowl, cream the sugar and the browned butter together with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. (You can also use the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment.)brown butter from above, 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated white sugar
- Then add in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and bourbon and mix on medium-high speed until smooth and pale in color, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.1 egg, at room temperature, 1 egg yolk, at room temperature, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp bourbon
- Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the wet ingredients a little at a time, mixing on low speed until all is combined and the batter is smooth.1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the toasted pecans over the the cake batter. Then pour the cream cheese mixture over top and spread it evenly with a mini offset spatula.
- Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, or until the center is shiny, has a jiggle still, and the edges are a light golden brown color.
- Then let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 45 minutes. Then transfer the cake to the fridge to cool for 2 hours.
For the Salted Caramel Sauce
- While the cake cools make the caramel sauce. Add the granulated white sugar to a large sauce pan and heat it over medium-low heat. As the sugar is heating it will crystalize and then eventually all melt down and turn golden in color. When most of the sugar has melted, but there are still a few crystalized clumps, turn the heat down to low so the melted sugar doesn't burn. (Melting all the sugar takes around 20 minutes.)1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
- Once all the sugar has melted and turned golden in color, add in the butter right away. Stir quickly until the butter is incorporated.5 tbsp (70 g) salted butter, at room temperature
- Then add in the heavy cream and stir quickly again to incorporate everything together. (At this point if you see the butter and cream start to separate from the sugar turn the heat up to medium low and stir vigorously to combine everything together. This can happen if your butter and cream aren't room temperature.)1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
- Lastly, add in the sea salt and vanilla and stir to combine.1 tsp vanilla, 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
- Let the caramel simmer on low for 2-3 minutes, then remove it from the heat and allow to cool completely before using.
Assembling the Cake
- Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the springform pan and transfer it to a serving plate.
- Pour the caramel sauce over the top and spread it evenly with an offset spatula.
- Sprinkle the set aside 1/4 cup of toasted pecans over the top of the cake and serve!(The cake is best served at room temperature, so if you're preparing the cake the day before and letting it chill in the fridge overnight, pull it out and let sit for a hour at room temperature, then pour the caramel over top and serve.)
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