Southern Pecan Praline Cake with Butter Sauce
This Southern Pecan Praline Cake with Butter Sauce is so scrumptious that no one will know it’s made with a cake mix! All topped with an easy, sweet butter sauce!
AN EASY SOUTHERN STYLE CAKE
I promise you have never had a cake like this before. This cake is so incredibly moist and flavorful. It might seem weird to add frosting to the cake batter before baking but it totally works and makes this such a unique and absolutely delicious cake. The butter sauce is optional because this cake is so delicious on its own but I think it adds a little something special when serving. I promise this will become a new favorite cake and everyone will be begging for the recipe!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I get this question a lot. All I’m gonna say is I have made this cake SO many times for coconut haters and they love it. You can’t even really taste the coconut that is in the frosting and you don’t even see the pieces of coconut in it. Unfortunately, I have not found an acceptable substitute yet for this flavor and consistency. It’s the same frosting used for German chocolate cake. I suppose you could try to make the frosting homemade and just maybe leave out the coconut.
If you or someone are serving this to just cannot stand any type of coconut at all or if you are allergic, then this cake is definitely not for you.
This recipe really relies on these specific ingredients. It just won’t taste the same with substitutes because I’ve tried. Again, this cake is reliant on using these exact ingredients.
Yes it can. It would need to be frozen without the sauce on top through. Wrap it very well to prevent freezer burn and it will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Yes. Bake for about 50 minutes. I highly recommend spraying the bundt pan very well with a nonstick spray that has flour in it (like Baker’s Joy or Pam Baking Spray.)
When I first shared this recipe in 2012, cake mixes were 18.25 ounces. Some brands, like Betty Crocker, are now 13.25 ounces. As of writing this, Duncan Hines is 15.25 ounces. I believe only Betty Crocker makes the butter pecan flavor. This recipe still works without any changes. The cake may not be as thick but it will works the same way. Just keep an eye on baking time as all ovens can bake just a bit differently since many have hot spots. So you may need to adjust the baking time slightly.
It does not unless you’ve poured the sauce on top. I prefer to pour the sauce on to individual toppings. But if you’ve opted to pour it over the entire cake, then you’ll need to keep the cake refrigerated. Otherwise, just cover and it can be kept on the counter for up to 3 days.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- butter pecan cake mix – it has to be the butter pecan cake mix. Unfortunately I have not found a good substitute. This is just one of those recipes where you must use the ingredients as listed. If you can’t find them then I would not try making this recipe.
- coconut pecan frosting – this recipe only works with this type of frosting. If you don’t like coconut then this recipe is not for you.
- eggs – if you have time, let the eggs come to room temperature. This helps them mix into the batter easier.
- oil and water – you are NOT using the amounts on the back of the box. Please use the amounts that I have listed exactly.
- chopped pecans – if you are not a huge fan of pecans you can leave them out but remember that there is pecan flavor in the cake mix and there are pecans also in the frosting so you will to be getting rid of the pecans completely.
- sweetened condensed milk – you don’t have to make the sauce if you don’t want since this cake is super flavorful on its own but it is nice to have on the side for anyone who would like some.
- butter – it needs to be real butter and not margarine.
HOW TO MAKE PECAN PRALINE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (I like the kind with flour in it). In a medium bowl (or your stand mixer bowl), combine all the cake ingredients except for the chopped pecans. Don’t forget to add the tub of coconut pecan frosting. That goes into the cake batter too! I just dump it all in there then let the mixer do the work.
Once it’s all combined, stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
Pour batter into greased baking dish. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. As with most baked goods, oven times vary but cake should spring back to the touch and be golden brown. And if you insert a toothpick into the middle it should come out clean.
This cake is perfectly good just like this. It is moist and yummy. But we’re gonna take it up a notch with some butter sauce. In a small pot over medium heat, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter. Pour in can of sweetened condensed milk with the melted butter and stir. Continue to stir until heated thoroughly, then add 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Stir again then take off heat.
Then spoon this deliciously yummy sauce over individual slices of cake. I pour the sauce over the individual slices instead of just pouring it over the whole cake because I love to be able to scoop up some of the sauce off my plate as I eat it and I don’t want the sauce to just become part of the cake. But you can definitely do that if you need to take this to a gathering.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Southern Pecan Pralines
- Butter Pecan Poke Cake
- Southern Pecan Cake Bars
- Italian Cream Cake
- Southern Pecan Pie
- Watergate Cake
- Southern Pecan Pound Cake
- Pistachio Cake
- Italian Love Cake
- White Texas Sheet Cake
- Southern Pound Cake
- Homemade Gooey Butter Cake
Originally published: November 2012
Updated photos & republished: February 2024
Southern Pecan Praline Cake with Butter Sauce
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 box butter pecan cake mix
- 1 tub coconut pecan frosting
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup chopped pecans
For the sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9"x 13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl (or your stand mixer bowl), combine 1 box butter pecan cake mix, 1 tub coconut pecan frosting, 4 large eggs, 3/4 cup vegetable oil and 1 cup water. Mix very well.
- Then stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes. Oven times vary but cake should spring back to the touch and be golden brown. Or insert a toothpick into the middle it should come out clean.
- For the sauce: In a small pot over medium heat (or in a microwave), melt 2 Tablespoons salted butter.
- Pour in 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk with the melted butter and stir.
- Continue to stir until heated thoroughly, then add 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Stir again then take off heat.
- Then spoon this deliciously yummy sauce over individual slices of cake when serving. Or pour it all over the whole cake.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- You can also make this in a bundt pan. Bake for about 50 minutes.
- I prefer to pour the sauce over the individual slices. I think it makes a prettier presentation but you don’t have to do that. You can just pour all of the sauce over the entire cake.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
can you use milk instead of water
This cake is fantastic! I had it at a church luncheon and there wasn't a crumb left on the cake plate when the luncheon was over! The person who made it served the sauce on the side, which I really liked because it made the cake something really special. Since I found out how easy it was, I am going to make this for my family soon!
My cousin made this cake for our reunion everyone loved it. Now I am going to make it so I can have more than one slice.
For those who are having trouble finding a butter pecan cake mix, I think you could use a good grade yellow cake and add a teaspoon of butter pecan extract.
I made this cake for a church pot luck and everyone loved it. I have been asked several times to make it again. I've even had people offer to pay me to make it. I always make mine in a bundt pan. Fabulous recipe!!
I've never seen butter pecan cake mixes at the store. What other cakemix could you use?
Woo hoo! I love that y'all love this one as much as I do. It really is my most favorite cake recipe on the blog. I think it surprises folks on how good it tastes. Thank you!
I found both the frosting and butter pecan cake mix at Walmart. This cake is incredible! Thanks so much for the recipe.
I made this cake today and OMGosh!!! SO GOOD. The sauce really makes it BETTER!!! I will be making this again.
Pecan meal and chopped pecans are $3 a pound in the roadside stands in the Florida panhandle
happy to give you contact info.
advacak@gmail.com
I go thru 2 0r 3 lbs a month
I found this wonderful recipe on pinterest and have made it at least 8 times. It's great for taking to functions at the drop of the hat. I've only gotten 1 piece because it's gone in a flash. I have it baking in the oven right now to serve at a church function tomorrow. I poke holes in the warm cake and pour the rich sauce over it. I'd love to have the chance to actually eat it warm! I can only find the cake mix at Walmart and I always have at least 2 boxes in my pantry so I'm ready to go at a moment's notice. Thanks so much for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Just made this today. It is amazing. Couldn't be easier to mix up. I liked the bowl so clean I almost didn't have to wash it. Left the pecans out of the sauce, and had one, okay, maybe two, pieces while it was still warm. You all have to try this. Also, unbelievably moist. Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
Wondering how a spice cake mix would taste. I have one and don't know what else to use it for. Thoughts?
OMG this cake is so wonderful. Just made it for the first time tonight. Will definitely make it again.
I've made this a couple times, and I've gotten famous at work for it. It's my oven right now. They requested I bring it tomorrow! I also take it as a poke cake for easy serving. The only variation I've ever tried is doing it with a German chocolate cake mix instead: turns out just as good as you'd imagine! This is amazing!
This cake is fantastic! I wanted something yummy to take to a community gathering, and this seemed like it would be a winner. Because I didn't have the "individual slices" option for the topping, and wanted each piece to get equal amounts of topping, I rolled the dice and turned it into a poke cake! Mixed the sweetened condensed milk and butter to pour into the holes, and topped with a thin layer of cool whip and the chopped pecans. It was so very good. Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely amazing cake!! A friend brought this to our church dinner last night, still warm. And, I assure you it didn't even get a chance to cool; it was gone that fast. Delicious!! Went straight from church, bought the ingredients to make it for my husband tomorrow! Can't wait to check out your other recipes!
Finally, after searching for a week for the cake mix I found it. And bought the last 2 containers of icing that they had. Can't wait to make this cake this weekend.
This is one of the best cakes I've ever made. Absolutely delicious.
I made this gluten free using Betty Crocker's gluten free yellow cake mix instead of the butter pecan cake mix. I followed the recipe as written and it turned out fabulous! I baked it about 30 minutes. My family loved it and my husband commented a few times, "that sure was good cake!" Thanks for giving me another option using the gluten free cake mix.
I made this piece of deliciousness for a 31 party at my home. Every last morsel was gobbled up. I think I emailed the recipe to 6 people!!! The sauce….oh my…the sauce!!! I was licking the bowl!
This is the bomb! Love it! My sissy made it this past weekend and it was just what the doctor ordered! A new favorite in our family! Thank you! <3
To Anonymous…have you tried walmart? That's where I found mine
Brandie, this looks absolutely sinful….got my cake mix, however I REALLY dislike coconut. Do you have any suggestions for a homemade plain pecan frosting?
Thanks so much
I so want to make this cake…but I can't find that flavor of cake mix anywhere in the Northwoods of Wisconsin!!! Guess I'll just have to wait until we go to Milwaukee and check it out down there ;(
I made this cake before and everyone loved it. Today I mistakenly used fat free evaporated milk and didn'tnotice tip after pecans were added. Anybody have a quik no-waste remedy?
just made this in a sunflower bunt pan and it came out beautiful!!! I had just enough batter left over to put in a mini bread pan and we sampled from that tonight and it is wonderful! will make the sauce for it tomorrow and put on each slice as you recommended. I found my butter pecan cake mix at walmart.
thanks for the great recipe,
Lisa
Thank you so much for coming back to let me know Lisa. So happy you loved this one!
Can anyone tell me if this cake needs to be refrigerated afterwards? Im making it for all the guys hubby works with and wont be delivering it till tomorrow.
Thanks
I don't refrigerate this cake. If it were going to sit out longer than a day, then I would probably refrigerate it.
I made this awhile ago and it was delicious! My whole family loved it. The glaze/frosting reminded me of the Applebee's Blonde Brownie Sauce….yum!
This is what I call my caramel cake. I make it in a bundt pan and use a Vanilla nut butter glaze but the cake is the same! Moist, delicious and sooo easy! My recipe calls for 1 cup of oil but I only use 3/4 cup. This is my husband's absolute favorite cake!!
Thanks so much Trish!
omg I just Love Love Love this recipe, simply amazing, and I love love love your creativity, You Rock!!!
Awww shucks – thank you so very much!! 🙂
Just made this. It's really good! Thanks for the recipe. And to the above I used Betty Crocker's Butter Pecan Cake Mix and found it at Wal-mart.
Does anyone know if Betty Crocker even still make the Butter Pecan Cake Mix? Went to our 2 grocery stores and neither one had it. Is there a way of finding out? I went to the Betty Crocker site and tried sending in the question.
Yes they do. I just bought a box at my local Wal-mart last week. You could ask your store manager about ordering it for you. But if all else fails, you could use french vanilla instead but you do lose some of that buttery-pecan flavor. Hope that helps!
It is still available though my grocer rarely carries more than a few boxes. I get it at Ingle's and Bi-Lo
I got both the cake mix and the frosting at Food Lion.
I have a request to make this cake for one of the cakes in a 3 tier wedding cake. Do you think the sauce will be ok to put some between the split layers in the one cake and then ice with a butter cream icing?
Oh goodness, this might be a tricky one to do that with. You might be able to, I would just worry about the stability of the layers with the sauce in between.
Oh my Lord!! This cake was divine!!! I will be making it again, and again. I love the fact that it doesn't taste like a boxed cake mix… Just the right add-ins, the perfect sauce to spoon over the top.. Brandie, thank you for sharing this recipe.. Love it!!!
Thanks so much for the thumbs up Barb!!
This recipe looks amazing. I've pinned it! 🙂 Thanks for sharing it at the Weekend Potluck!
This looks awesome, and using a cake mix makes it even better! I am always looking for recipes that I can make gluten free, and I will definitely try this one with a gluten free mix. Thanks for posting!
Sounds so good! If I make this as a bundt cake, can I drizzle over the whole cake as a glaze? Or will it all pool at the bottom?
My children ask for this cake instead of birthday cake for their birthdays. Thank you for the recipe.
OH My-Lanta!! My house smelled SO good while this cake was in the oven..which it almost didn't make it to the oven because the batter is delicious by itself!! Made this for my husband who will be home tonight after a week away for work but he had better hurry it up or there won't be any cake left. Thank you so much for this recipe the cake is delish =)
I can not find the Butter pecan cake mix. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Jane. Just use a yellow cake mix. It won't taste exactly the same but that's really the only other substitution I could offer. If you can find some pecan extract, you could add about a teaspoon and a half of that to the batter to get it to come close to the butter pecan cake mix flavor.
This was sooooo good but with the price of pecans it is a bit pricey, so definitely a special occasion cake. Try it you certainly will not be disappointed!
Made it …. Loved it ….
Thank you for coming back to let me know! 🙂
good looking I will try this
I can't have coconut, so just use a butter cream frosting and some pecans to the frosting?
I made this cake a couple of days ago. Turned out perfect. My husband says this is his new favorite cake. Thanks for sharing.
I can't find the Butter Pecan Cake Mix either, so I guess I will try the yellow cake mix.
Couldn't find the Butter Pecan cake Mix, but had already bought all the other ingredients, so I went ahead and tried it using a yellow butter cake mix and it was delicious! got rave reviews from my guests!
How long should the cake cool if pouring sauce over entire cake? Sounds so yummy; can't
wait to try. Thanks.
I made the cake today…I had to bake it for 50 minutes, it was not done at 40 mins….but one question….do you refrigerate the leftovers??? I am going to since it has sweetened condensed milk in it…and I will try a piece after supper…thanks for the recipe
I am going to try this recipe too , but my Mom takes the can of condensed milk and boils the unopened can for 2 hours ( making sure the can always has water over it ) this makes a thick caramel , and then add the nuts and butter to it . I think it will be even better … Thanks for crashing my diet yet again , but can't wait to try it 😉