Pecan Pie Bundt Cake
I acquired a love of Pecan Pie at a very young age. I’m sure my first encounter must have been a slice following one of my family’s Thanksgiving meals. My grandmother was a fierce pie baker and is likely the person responsible for my first encounter. Over the years, I’ve eaten Pecan Pie in every possible form, be it a tart, tassie, cookie, or bar, every form except cake. When I happened upon this recipe in the Fall issue of Bake, I pondered whether a cake could ever truly mimic the flavors we equate with pecan pie. I’ll be honest, I was skeptical. The only way to know for sure was to give the recipe a try. Well, let me just say, the folks over at Bake From Scratch knocked it out of the park with this one. I seriously don’t know if I will ever bake a pecan pie again, it was that delicious, and easy. No crust required!
Pecan Pie Bundt Cake
Cake:
2 tablespoons all-vegetable shortening
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup buttermilk
Drizzle:
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons half-and-half
Generous pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 325˚F.
Cake:
Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with shortening. Sprinkle pecans in pan, and swirl pan to coat. Leave remaining pecans in bottom of pan.
In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together corn syrup and buttermilk. Gradually add the flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto a wire rack and continue to cool while preparing the Drizzle.
Drizzle:
In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter, half-and-half, and salt to a boil. Remove from heat.
Using a wooden skewer or dowel, poke holes into the top of cake and slowly pour approximately two-thirds of the drizzle over the cake, using the remaining drizzle to spoon over slices of cake.
Adapted from Bake From Scratch, Fall, 2016
Ok, this is officially now on this year’s Thanksgiving menu. Awesome! xo M
You’re going to love it Michael!
This recipe looks amazing– but I am confused about the first paragraph ( i also never made a bundt cake before, so please bare with me)
“Sprinkle pecans in pan, and swirl pan to coat. Leave remaining pecans in bottom of pan.”
1) So I sprinkle the pecans after I grease the pan– what do you meany by swirl pan to coat ? Does this mean to continue to grease the pan with the pecans? or stir the pecans in the grease in the pan?
2) Leave remaining pecans in the bottom of the pan? You didn’t specify how how much to sprinkle with. what do you normally do?
3) so leaving the pecans at the bottom of the pan wont over bake the pecans?
Again– my apologies for not understanding —
No problem Claudia. If you aren’t understanding the directions, there may be other readers who also have questions.
After you thoroughly grease the bundt pan, sprinkle the pecans into the bottom of the pan. Roll the pan around to distribute as many of the pecans as possible onto the sides of the pan. They should stick to the shortening. There will be some pecans left in the bottom that did not adhere to the greased sides of the pan. I, too, questioned whether the pecans on the bottom of the pan might burn during baking, but they did not. Good luck, and let me know how the cake turns out for you.
Smells like fall, even with our 90-degree heat! Can’t wait to try this one, Mary.
As soon as the weather breaks, hop into the kitchen for this one. I think it just might be a cake you make over and over again. Besides, who can resist a ‘Bundt’! 🙂
Oh my, does this look delicious!
Thanks Susan!
Sold! I also have a family history of pie making in my DNA. Sometimes I do not want to commit to the project of a pie and a Bundt is worthy alternative. Looking at those buttery slices, it would say very worthy indeed! Happy fall Mary!
Thanks Deb! I just loved this cake, and I think you will love it as well. I will be making it again soon. It is a cake I actually now crave.
YUM YUM YUMMY
if it tastes as beautiful as it looks…then we are looking at sin
I may be the only one in my family who adores pecan pie, but I just know everyone will love it in this cake, Mary! What a beauty – I will make it this Thanksgiving!
Thanks Liren! I’m convinced that those who typically gives pecan pie a ‘thumbs down’ will just love this cake.
This looks amazing. If I make the night before I am surving should I wait to drizzle the topping on?
Cathy, it’s not necessary to wait to glaze the cake if you are serving it a day later. In fact, the glaze will keep the cake nice and moist until serving time.
I haven’t made, or even eaten, pecan pie for a very long time. It was one of the first recipes I tried when I discovered my love for baking and remember enjoying it so much. I can’t believe I havent tried it again for several years! You’ve inspired me to rediscover pecan pie, both with a crust and without.
Nazia, this recipe is a wonderful way to re-discover Pecan Pie. You will fall in love with it all over again.
Looks like another recipe that I will be savoring and saving, like your carrot cake cheesecake which is the ONLY one I use. But I prefer walnuts because they’re a heartier nut to me. Do you think they’d be too bitter to use? I’ve never, Ever had pecan pie so attaining its taste would be a blind task for me. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve baked something like that but this looks too beautiful to risk messing up the flavors.
Lili, I think walnuts would be delicious in this cake.