Just before my hubby’s birthday, he spied this Butter Pecan Cake that happened to come up on his timeline on FB, and desperately wanted it for his birthday! So who was I to say no?!

This is an oldie but a goodie submitted to Taste of Home magazine by Becky Miller of Tallahassee, Florida, and man was it good!

It truly did have a “butter pecan” flavor, unlike a lot of recipes, and I only changed it up just a little bit! Nothing serious, just a few little tweaks, and was extremely happy with the results!

It made quite a large cake, so the neighbors were equally thrilled to receive part (*half!!) of the cake! So this is perfect for a party, holiday, family gathering, or someone’s birthday! 😉

I also loved it, not only for the flavor, but because I pretty much suck at decorating cakes, so this one was easy!

Though we’re going through hell right now, we actually had a great day, and this cake really made my hubby’s birthday special! Cake makes everything better! 😉

It’s not hard at all to make, either, and toasting the pecans in butter first, makes all the difference and brings out the true “butter pecan” flavor! It really did taste like the ice cream!

Because we’re “older” now, I chopped the pecans smaller in a mini processor. You can leave them the way they come, already chopped, but I do highly recommend that you at least run a knife through them a few times.

The companies leave the pieces quite big, some are almost halves, and they really aren’t pleasant to bite into, (even if you still have teeth strong enough to chomp ice)! Save the bigger pieces or halves off to the side to decorate the top if you’d like.

This cake also makes gobs of frosting, but don’t cut back on it! It’s a triple layer cake, you’ll need all of it, and besides, the frosting is the best part anyways, right?

You’ll definitely want to save this and make it for your next special event! Father’s Day is coming up! 😉 Hope you enjoy!

12 - 16 servings

Butter Pecan Cake

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups finely chopped pecans
1 1/4 cups butter, softened, [i]divided[/i]
1 3/4 cup regular white sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 extra large eggs
1 Tbl. good vanilla
3 cups all-purose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/16 tsp cinnamon
1 cup whole milk

For Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened
8 cups powdered sugar
1 (5 oz.) can evaporated milk (*not sweetened condensed!)
2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Place pecans and 1/4 cup of the butter cut up into small pieces onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until toasted, stirring often. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream sugars and remaining butter for cake until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

In medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in 1 1/3 cups of the toasted pecans.

Pour into three greased and floured 8" round cake pans. (*If using dark coated pans, reduce oven to 325º F). Bake at 350º for 25 - 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pan onto wire racks to cool completely.

For Frosting:

Cream butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add milk, vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth. Stir in rest of toasted pecans. Frost between cake layers and rest of cake.