Easy Caramel Pecan Cake

Caramel Pecan Cake is easy to make, sweet, nutty, and drizzled with my favorite thing, CARAMEL! Everyone will want to start with dessert when this impressive cake is on the menu!

WOW your friends and family this holiday season with an easy-to-make Caramel Pecan Cake! This recipe uses a dressed up box cake mix, but has the taste and texture of homemade. The secret ingredient might surprise you! 

I'm more of a cook than a baker. Don't get me wrong, I like to bake, I just don't love it as much as I love cooking. With cooking, I can add a little of this or a little of that and it won't totally mess up the recipe. 

Baking is an entirely different story! Baking is a science and, therefore, the measurements must be precise in order for the end result to be edible and beautiful at the same time. Being a creative type, precise has never really been my thang, so often times when baking, I end up with something that tastes spectacular but isn't the prettiest or, worse, the other way around!

Now that you know I'm a cook, not a baker, you are probably wondering how I crafted this beautiful Caramel Pecan Cake. I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is! 

Enter the dressed up box cake mix! Learning how to make a boxed cake mix with the taste and texture of homemade was, to put it simply, LIFE CHANGING! Box cake mixes, love 'em or hate 'em, are very forgiving, making them perfect for someone like myself who isn't a natural when it comes to baking.

Box cake mixes are also a great time saver! Making a beautiful cake, worthy of special occasions such as the holidays, is time consuming. It ends up being a 2 day event for me! I just don't have the time for that, especially when I'm making an elaborate meal to enjoy with friends and family. With the help of a boxed cake mix, my KitchenAid Stand Mixer, and a tub of frosting (aka the secret ingredient), I can make this show-stopping Caramel Pecan Cake that I am proud to serve at our holiday gatherings!

The moistness of this cake rivals that of a carefully crafted homemade cake, and upon first bite, without even realizing it, you close your eyes to savor the sweet, nutty richness as it melts in your mouth like that first snowflake of winter you catch on your tongue. It is heavenly!

Rich and decadent, this Caramel Pecan Cake will WOW your dinner guests! I love to serve up a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner followed by a show-stopping dessert, on a gorgeous cake stand, of course, leaving my friends and family mesmerized at my seemingly magical skills in the kitchen. No one would guess I cheated a little on dessert, and I'm not telling! Would you? Would you even care?

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Caramel Pecan Cake

By Life Tastes Good
Published 10/29/2015

Caramel Pecan Cake is easy to make, sweet, nutty, and drizzled with my favorite thing, CARAMEL! Everyone will want to start with dessert when this impressive cake is on the menu!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 15.25 ounce Butter Pecan Cake Mix
• 16 ounce Coconut Pecan Frosting
• 1 cup pecans
• Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce, warmed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9" bundt pan. I recommend using Baker's Joy Baking Spray for best results. Be sure to get into the crevices of the bundt pan and don't forget to spray the sides of the middle section too!
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 3 eggs, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 1 cup water. Using the whisk attachment, whisk until combined and frothy.
   
3. Change to a paddle attachment with a flex edge and add the Butter Pecan Cake Mix. Mix until just combined. Add the entire 16 ounce container of Coconut Pecan frosting and mix again until combined.
   
4. Place 1 cup pecans in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to chop coarsely, about 1-2 quick pulses should do it. Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the cake batter and stir by hand. Add 1/4 cup chopped pecans to the bottom of the bundt pan and reserve the remaining 1/4 cup chopped pecans for topping the cake.
   
5. Using a rubber spatula, guide the batter into the bundt pan, being sure to spread it evenly throughout the pan. Level the top with the rubber spatula. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes until it bounces back when lightly pressed or a cake tester inserted comes out clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then gently tap it on the counter a couple times to loosen it. Make sure the cake is loosened along the sides and the middle and carefully invert it onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.
   
7. When the cake is cooled, drizzle it with warm Salted Caramel Sauce and sprinkle with the reserved pecans. I like to serve this cake with extra caramel sauce, because you can't have too much caramel! Enjoy!

Yield: 1 cake
Prep Time: 15 mins.

Cook time: 50 mins.
Total time: 65 mins.