The Best Southern Butter Pecan Pound Cake Recipe
Treat yourself, your family, and friends to the best Southern butter pecan pound cake full of that decadent butter pecan flavor everyone loves! This moist cake has that buttery flavor that any good old-fashioned cake should.
A Wonderful Dessert
It’s the best way to show your love too, yet this easy cake won’t stress you out making it. It’s one of my favorite delicious cake recipes, one that turns out perfectly every single time.
When we have everyone gather at our home, I am always asked if I’m making this scrumptious cake. If you love butter pecan flavor, you’ve simply got to try it!
The Perfect Cake for Special Occasions
Maybe I’m a bit biased, but it’s hard to beat that butter pecan flavor. That buttery goodness really gives this old-timey cake the best flavor you’ll find.
It’s sooo much better than a butter pecan boxed cake mix. It reminds me of my grandma, who has often served as my inspiration in baking. Every time I bake this butter pecan cake, I’m instantly brought back to my childhood. Those warm and cozy feelings stay with me long after the last bite of this rich and decadent cake is gone.
The next time you need a delicious cake to make for a special occasion, from holidays to birthdays, let this one be the one! And if you’re in need of a second cake to take, try this sock it to me cake, with a crunchy ribbon of cinnamon, sugar, and pecans laced throughout.
Ingredients For Butter Pecan Pound Cake
- Softened butter
- Powdered sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Sour cream
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Chopped pecans
- Your choice of icing
In addition to these basic ingredients, I added maple-flavored icing on top, but you can use whatever frosting you like. A butter pecan glaze would be nice, or cream cheese frosting too.
Full printable recipe with measurements and instructions listed at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Add the softened butter to a large mixing bowl.
Add the powdered sugar to the bowl and mix the ingredients.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix.
Next, add the sour cream and vanilla extract and mix.
In another bowl, add the flour and salt and whisk the two ingredients together.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.
Finally, add the pecans to the bowl and mix.
Pour the cake batter into a Bundt pan and bake for one hour at 325 degrees or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool for at least 30 minutes. Invert the cake onto a cake plate. I always place the cake plate over the Bundt pan and then flip it over gently.
Make the icing and pour it over the cake.
Here’s my quick recipe for icing:
- 1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2-3 Tablespoons maple syrup (or milk or heavy whipping cream)
Mix the ingredients together and pour over the cake. I like the maple syrup, but if you don’t, you can use milk or heavy whipping cream instead.
If the icing is too thick, add a small amount of liquid to the bowl and mix. If it’s too thin, add a small amount of powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency.
You can make chocolate icing by adding three tablespoons of cocoa to the mix.
Tips for Perfect Butter Pecan Pound Cake
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature before you start baking.
- Don’t overmix the batter, as this can make the cake turn out tough.
- Use a cake pan with a nonstick coating. I use the nonstick spray that also includes flour, and I spray it over the nonstick coating on the pan.
- To test if the cake is done, insert a toothpick, a skinny knife, or a cake tester into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
- Let the cake cool completely before flipping it over and frosting it.
Storing The Cake
Store the cake in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap. It does not need to be refrigerated.
Variations and Substitutions
If you want to switch up the classic butter pecan pound cake recipe, here are some variations and substitutions to try:
- Use walnuts or almonds instead of pecans for different flavors. You can even toast the pecans in the oven before adding them to the cake batter.
- Add 1/2 cup of cocoa powder to the batter for a chocolatey flavor.
- Replace the vanilla extract with almond or maple extract, which will go great with the maple syrup icing.
- Add 1 cup of shredded coconut to the batter. You can even toast some and sprinkle on top of the icing.
- Use browned butter instead of regular butter for a bolder flavor.
This butter pecan cake recipe is more or less a basic pound cake that has a few divine twists. I baked mine in a Bundt pan, but you can easily turn it into a two-layer cake to serve as a birthday cake if you wish. I’d love this cake for my birthday, that’s for sure!
The flavor combination reminds me of butter pecan ice cream, one of my favorites to get when we go out for ice cream.
Nothing says you can’t serve up a scoop of that with this homemade Southern butter pecan cake!
More Delicious Cake Recipes
- If you’ve ever craved that sweet, lemony slice from the coffee shop, this copycat Starbucks lemon loaf pound cake brings it home in the best way.
- This rich, moist dessert gets an old-school twist with fizzy flavor in every bite — it’s a classic chocolate Coca-Cola cake just like Grandma used to make.
- Whether you’re baking for a gathering or gifting something sweet, these festive Christmas Bundt cake recipes make holiday baking easy and impressive.
- Rolled up with a dreamy cream cheese filling, this simple pumpkin roll recipe delivers fall flavor and nostalgic comfort in every bite.
- You’ll get rich flavor and that perfect dense texture in this old-fashioned chocolate pound cake recipe — a no-fuss dessert that always satisfies.
The Best Southern Butter Pecan Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/2 cups of softened butter
- 3 3/4 cups of powdered sugar
- 6 eggs
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 2/3 cup of chopped pecans
Icing (Optional)
- 1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2-3 Tablespoons maple syrup or milk or heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix.
- Next, add the sour cream and vanilla extract and mix.
- In a small bowl, add the flour and salt and whisk together.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix the ingredients until they are combined.
- Finally, add the pecans to the bowl and mix.
- Pour into the Bundt pan and bake for one hour or until a cake tester comes out clean.
I don’t see any baking soda, or powder, what makes it rise?
That is a great question! I am not too scientific, but pound cakes are typically pretty dense cakes. When you beat the eggs, they will trap air and it will expand when baking. So, different ingredients can play a part like that and help the cake rise while it bakes.
Hi I am about to make this cake and I see the ingredients says powdered sugar in the cake mix is that correct or is it granulated sugar?
Hi Heidi! That is correct. It’s powdered sugar. I hope you love the cake!
@Julie Pollitt, I had the same question. Why powdered sugar. And what affect does it have on the cake?
Mine has cracks on the top. It doesn’t matter since I’m not taking it anywhere but is there a way to prevent that?
Hi Joann,
Because pound cake is so dense it can form cracks while baking. You can try baking it in a tube pan and see if that helps. You can also gently run your knife through the batter to get out any air bubbles before baking. That might help.
Can I sub the sour cream for milk or heavy whipping cream?
Hi Tan,
I would use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. If you don’t have any Greek yogurt or plain yogurt you can use heavy whipping cream. I would whip the heavy cream a little bit to thicken it. All three would be a 1:1 ratio. So you would use 1/2 cup of the yogurt or heavy cream. Hope that helps!
This seems like a ton of sugar, have you ever used less, I feel the need to cut it down…thoughts?
Hi there! Remember too that if you look at a 1:1 ratio of sugar to powdered sugar, powdered sugar is going to be less sugar. Having said that, sugar is still sugar, and it’s cake so we gotta have that sweetness in cake 🙂 I haven’t tried with less, but you could try leaving out 3/4 of a cup of the powdered sugar and see how it goes. I hope that helps!
Love your recipes but your site is very glitchy took two attempts to send this message. Probably due to all the pop up advertising?
I am so sorry! I will let the tech team know. I appreciate it.
I have not tried this and I really want to but a couple of years ago, I attempted to cook cream cheese pound cakes (4 of them back to back) and they split and cracked really bad, the whole top pulled off. Can you help? Any suggestions please? Quite costly so I don’t want to go through this again.
Hi Jackie,
I would try one at a time first. Here are a few tips that might help.
Don’t over mix the cake.
Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature.
Bake the cake at a lower temp. I use 325F for mine.
Let the cake cool in the Bundt pan for about 15 minutes on the stovetop and then flip it over. Don’t leave it in the Bundt pan too long or it will stick.
I hope that helps! Here’s my recipe: https://www.backtomysouthernroots.com/old-fashioned-cream-cheese-pound-cake-recipe/