This butter pecan pound cake bakes up in a bundt pan with a moist, tender crumb from butter and buttermilk. Once it’s out of the oven, it gets soaked in a brown butter glaze made by browning the butter first, which gives the glaze a nutty, toffee-like depth you don’t get from a plain powdered sugar glaze. It’s all from scratch, no cake mix involved.
This one uses cake flour instead of all-purpose, which is what gives the crumb its light, tender texture even with all that butter.
An Old Fashioned Southern Pound Cake Recipe
A true Southern pound cake is dense and buttery rather than light and airy, and this one keeps that old fashioned character while folding chopped pecans right into the batter, so every slice gets that nutty crunch instead of just a scattering on top.
The brown butter glaze is thinner and silkier than a frosting, so you can pour it over the top. It’s made to soak into the cake and pool a little at the base. If you love the technique here but want a version without the pecans and the glaze, a cream cheese pound cake follows the same buttery, from-scratch approach.
A Basic Pound Cake, Made Southern With Buttermilk
This started as a basic pound cake, the kind built on butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, and got the one addition that makes it Southern: buttermilk. Buttermilk brings a slight tang that plain milk doesn’t, which is the real difference between an ordinary pound cake and one that tastes like it came out of a Southern kitchen.
The Glaze That’s Really Half Frosting
The glaze took the most testing to get right. I tried a plain powdered sugar glaze first, and it added sweetness but nothing else, no real flavor beyond sugar. Browning the butter changed that completely, giving the glaze a deep, nutty flavor that pairs perfectly with the pecans already in the cake. It’s good enough to eat with a spoon on its own. What ended up in this recipe is a hybrid, thicker than a typical glaze but thinner than a frosting, so it still pours but carries real flavor instead of just sweetness.
Pound cakes like this one have always shown up at potlucks and church suppers around here, simple enough to make without fuss but special enough to mean something. It’s the kind of cake that fits right in next to something like a sock it to me cake with a cinnamon-pecan streusel.
Small Steps That Keep This Cake From Turning Out Dense or Dry
Let the butter, eggs, and buttermilk come to room temperature before you start. Cold ingredients don’t blend as smoothly, and that’s often what causes a dense, heavy crumb.
Once the flour goes in, mix just until it disappears. Overmixing at that stage is the most common way this kind of cake turns out tough instead of tender.
Let the cake cool completely before pouring the glaze. If it’s still warm, the glaze will melt and slide right off instead of setting.
Cake flour: this gives the crumb a lighter, more tender texture than all-purpose flour. If you don’t have cake flour, all-purpose works fine as a substitute.
Buttermilk: use full fat buttermilk here, not low fat or a buttermilk substitute made with milk and vinegar. The extra fat is what keeps this cake moist and gives it the right texture.
Sweetened condensed milk: this is what gives the glaze its thick, velvety consistency instead of a thin, runny one.
Pro Tip: When making cake in a bundt pan I prefer using butter and flour to grease the pan. I never have one stick when I use this method, where cooking spray is not as reliable. Just use the wrapper from the butter to smear the butter into all the crevices.
Step-by-Step Instructions to Make Butter Pecan Pound Cake
Step One: Prep the Pan and Pecans
Toast the pecans.
Step Two: Make the Batter
Using a stand mixer, whip the butter and sugar until fluffy, then add eggs and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients separately, then combine everything gradually, alternating with buttermilk. Stir in the pecans at the end.
Add butter and sugar to a bowl.
Cream until fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla.
Fold in the pecans.
Step Three: Bake the Cake
Pour batter into your pan and bake in the oven until golden and set. Let it cool slightly, then carefully remove it from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
Pour batter into the pan.
Bake and cool.
Step Four: Make the Glaze
Brown the butter, then mix it with condensed milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. While still warm, pour the glaze over the cooled cake and sprinkle with pecans.
Brown the butter.
Add the rest of the glaze ingredients.
Step Five: Let it Set
Allow the glaze to firm up before slicing. Enjoy your rich, nutty pound cake!
This is simple, from-scratch Southern baking dressed up just enough to feel special, without needing anything fancy to pull it off.
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Butter Pecan Pound Cake Recipe with Brown Butter Glaze
This butter pecan pound cake bakes up in a bundt pan with a moist, tender crumb from butter and buttermilk. Once it's out of the oven, it gets soaked in a brown butter glaze made by browning the butter first, which gives the glaze a nutty, toffee-like depth you don't get from a plain powdered sugar glaze. It's all from scratch, no cake mix involved.
Preheat the oven to 350º. Generously butter and flour a 12 cup bundt pan.
Cake:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and continue to beat for 2 minutes, it should be light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add in the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt.
Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Don’t over mix. Stir in the pecans and pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 52-55 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out with only a few crumbs. Let it cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Use a small offset spatula, or knife to go around the edges of the pan to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan. Invert onto a wire rack to cool.
While it is cooling, make the frosting.
Frosting:
In a light colored saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until it begins to turn brown. Remove from the heat and pour it into a glass bowl. (If you leave it in the saucepan, it will continue to cook and burn)
Add the sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar and vanilla and whisk until smooth. While the glaze is still warm, pour it over the cake and immediately sprinkle the pecans over the frosting.
If the frosting is too thick to pour, add a tablespoon of milk.
Let the frosting set before cutting, about 30 minutes.
Notes
Make sure that you generously butter and flour the bundt pan. You can use the wrapper from the butter to get in all the crevices.
You can use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour.
Make sure to chop the pecans very small.
Store the cooled cake covered on the counter for 3-4 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. To freeze, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw on the counter before eating.
I made this cake last night and everyone said this was the best cake I ever made.
That’s fantastic, thanks so much for taking the time to write a review.
Can this cake be frozen?
Yes, just let the frosting set then cover it well in plastic wrap.