Soft + Moist Brown Butter Pecan Sheet Cake

This easy brown butter pecan sheet cake recipe is perfectly moist, soft, and fluffy with tons of nutty and toasty brown butter pecan flavor and a sweet vanilla cream cheese frosting! 

Hi again everyone! And merry Christmas! 

It’s definitely an odd celebration this year. I would give you a rundown of our horrendous 2020 but there might not be room for the recipe! Maybe you’ve got quite the list too. 

But I’d say there’s a bit of a silver lining. We found ourselves this floofy good boi. My first semester at Rice was…an experience, but I certainly learned tons. We opened our second new ninja warrior gym: mega large edition! All Star Baking became a real live thing, and I got to meet all of you! And we finally caught my mom’s MBC after years of misdiagnoses. 

So anyway, Christmas may feel kinda weird, but I hope you get to celebrate that, if nothing else, this year showed us all just how strong we are.   

Hahahaha ya so anyway now let’s talk cake! 

This brown butter pecan sheet cake recipe is the perfect holiday dessert and packed with warm winter flavors!

The cake is velvety, soft and plush, and melts in your mouth with an explosion of lightly spiced toasty pecan and nutty caramelly brown butter and brown sugar. The frosting is smooth, creamy, and sweet, with the perfect cream cheese tang and deep pure vanilla bean flavor! It’s perfection. 

Brown butter? Pecan brown butter? Yikes! Your first instinct may be to run for the hills, but don’t worry! This is as easy as 1, 2, 3- or, well, sticking the butter in the pan, stirring in the pecans, and looming over it for 5 minutes or so. That 5 minutes is crazy worth it, it adds the best toasty flavor to any baked good it graces (like these! And these!).

Did I mention this entire recipe is that easy? And only uses one bowl? Yah. 

Key Ingredients 

Butter: For the cake itself, you’ll need a stick and a half of unsalted butter. You’ll brown this with the pecans! 

Pecans: I used fresh pecans (thanks Nanny!) but any unsalted whole pecans are fine. 

Sugars: You’ll need white and dark brown (light is ok!) for optimal flavor and fluffiness, like here! 

Egg Whites: You’ll need three! Need some yolk-eating recipes? Try these, these, or these! 

Sour Cream and Milk: I know sour cream may sound odd, but you won’t taste it whatsoever in the finished product! It’s imperative for moisture. Any milk works here. 

Buttermilk: Heavy cream would probably work too, or more milk in a real pinch. You’ll use it in the frosting too (and here!) 

Flour and Cornstarch: Make sure to spoon your flour into the cup and level it off, don’t scoop!! Cornstarch helps tenderize the cake. 

Vanilla: I used half a vanilla bean plus extract, it adds so much flavor and you can use the other half in the icing! (It’s great here too). See recipe notes if you don’t want to use the bean. 

Spices: I used just a pinch of nutmeg and a bit of cinnamon. I tested it without the spice, but the spiced version had ten times the flavor! 

You’ll also need baking powder, baking soda, and salt! 

What You’ll Do 

First: Brown the Butter with the Pecans! 

Just stick the butter in a large pan and turn on medium heat! Stir until it’s all melted and white streaks appear on the surface. Then add the pecans!

Just stir and keep cooking until the whole thing gets super foamy, about five minutes, and you can see the brown liquid beneath when you stir. 

If the butter ends up really dark, it’s probably ok unless it smells absolutely horrid and is burnt black. I have used some highly suspect butter in my time with a perfectly fine result! 

Finally, just strain out the butter into a big pan (so it can cool faster, cake pan works great) and stick it into the freezer. 

Next: Pulverize the Pecans 

So, for this step you’ll use a food processor. I’m sorry!! But it’s so easy. If you don’t have one (like me until I got this wonder), feel free to go at it with a Ziploc and a rolling pin for 15 minutes, but others in the vicinity may retaliate (known from experience). 

Stick the buttery pecans in there and process on high for a minute or two until the mixture looks like almond butter (kinda wet, kinda solid. Sorta like kinetic sand?? What 🙂 Don’t trust me, just look at the picture above.

Finally: The Actual Cake. 

Scrape the brown butter into a large bowl and beat it with the sugars on high speed! Then beat in the pecan butter. Finally, add the wet ingredients (except the milk and buttermilk!). Switch to a wooden spoon and fold in the dry ingredients (don’t overmix!), then the milks. That’s it! 

You’ll bake the cake in a 9×13 rectangular pan (my fave) for 30-35 minutes. Line your pan with parchment paper so you can lift your cake out to cool! Foil works too, I suppose. If a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs it’s done! If the top of the cake is browning too much, place a sheet of foil on top. Just don’t burn your hand on the hot foil when you take it out of the oven (heh). Make sure not to overbake, that will lead to a dry cake! 

The Frosting (our crowning glory)

This is one of my favorite frostings of all time! The smooth tangy cream cheese perfectly complements the warm toasty cake. Use cold butter and cream cheese here- it will be hard to mix and you will question my sanity but beat on very high speed and it will come together. 

You can use heavy cream in place of the buttermilk here. Milk works too (see recipe notes). I love the addition of half a vanilla bean here like in the cake, it takes this frosting to the next level! I use these, much more affordable than the grocery store. 

If you don’t like cream cheese (looking at you madelyn) try this! 

So anyway, Merry Christmas, and I hope this brown butter pecan sheet cake can make your holiday a bit brighter! (It’s perfect any day of the year, really). If you’re looking for something to lift your spirits may I suggest this (oh, and this haha). I’ll be back with new recipes soon! 

If this turns out delicious, feel free to leave a comment and star rating below! 🙂 And don’t forget to like All Star Baking on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Pinterest! Hurray!

Soft + Moist Brown Butter Pecan Sheet Cake

5 from 14 votes

Recipe by Emily Kirsten Course: CakesDifficulty: Easy

Servings

15

slices

Prep time

1

hour 

Cooking time

35

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

35

minutes

This easy brown butter pecan sheet cake recipe is perfectly moist, soft, and fluffy with tons of nutty and toasty brown butter pecan flavor and a sweet vanilla cream cheese frosting!

Ingredients

• For the Cake

• 3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks, 172 g) unsalted butter, sliced

• 1 and 1/2 cups (150 g) unsalted pecan halves

• 2/3 cup (133 g) granulated sugar

• 1/3 cup (67 g) dark brown sugar, packed*

• 3 large egg whites

• 1/2 cup (113 g) sour cream

• seeds scraped from half a vanilla bean*

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled*

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1 and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup (113 g, 120 ml) any milk

• 1/4 cup (57 g, 60 ml) buttermilk*

• For the Frosting

• 1/2 cup (1 stick, 115 g) unsalted butter, cold and sliced

• 4 ounces block-style cream cheese, cold and sliced*

• 3 tablespoons buttermilk, divided*

• 3 and 1/2 cups (420 g) powdered sugar

• seeds scraped from half a vanilla bean*

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

• For the Cake
• Brown the Butter: Place the sliced butter into a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until melted and white streaks appear on the surface of the butter. Add the pecan halves and stir until foamy and liquid beneath foam turns dark golden brown (a few minutes).
• Strain out pecans and set aside. Pour brown butter in a large pan (like a cake pan) and freeze for 20 minutes or until solid and opaque. While you wait, move on to Step 3!
• Make Pecan Butter: Place the strained-out pecans in the bowl of a food processor and run on high for 1-2 minutes or until the pecans form a semi-solid nut butter. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a metal or glass 9×13 rectangular pan with parchment paper or foil and set aside.
• Remove brown butter from freezer and scrape into a large bowl. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat on high speed until creamy and smooth.
• Add brown sugar and white sugar and beat until smooth and velvety. Add your pecan butter and beat on high until combined.
• Add egg whites, sour cream, vanilla bean seeds, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat on high speed until smooth.
• Add flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold together with a wooden spoon or spatula just until combined (don’t overmix!).
• Fold in the milk and buttermilk just until combined. Batter will be thick. Pour into prepared pan and smooth out evenly.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick emerges from the center with moist crumbs. If the top is browning too much, simply lay a sheet of foil on top. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove cake (parchment paper/foil makes this easy) and place on cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
• For the Frosting
• Combine sliced cold butter, cream cheese, and 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk in a large bowl. Beat with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment on high speed for 5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
• Beat in powdered sugar one cup at a time. Frosting will be thick. Beat in vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, and the remaining tablespoon of buttermilk. Spread atop cooled cake.

Notes

• Brown Sugar: In a pinch, light brown sugar will work! If you have it on hand, throw in a tablespoon of molasses! 🙂
• Vanilla Bean Halves: I get my vanilla beans here! If you don’t want to use the bean, add an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract in both the cake and the frosting.
• Flour: Make sure you fluff your flour with a spoon, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it off with a knife! If you pack or scoop it in, your cake will be dry and icky.
• Buttermilk: In both the cake and the frosting, you can sub in heavy cream for the buttermilk! Another great substitute is 1/4 cup milk mixed with 1/4 tsp lemon juice or vinegar and left to sit for 5 minutes.
• Cream Cheese: Use the block style cream cheese, NOT the bagel spread in the tub! That would make for some icky frosting 🙁 If you don’t like cream cheese, try this frosting!
• Other Pans: Halve the recipe for an 8×8 pan. This recipe will also make 15 cupcakes. Multiply the recipe by 1.5 for a two layer 9-inch cake!
• Storage: Frosted cake will stay fresh for 3 days at room temperature, 4 in the fridge (which dries it out a bit). Or freeze unfrosted cake for up to 2 months!

I hope you loved making this!

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