This Toffee Pecan Caramel Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting is every bit as delicious as it sounds. It has become an instant family favorite!
With fall just around the corner, we are already dreaming of all of the wonderful flavors that come with the season, from pumpkin to spice cakes and caramel. Today’s recipe is a delicious twist on our favorite caramel cake, incorporating toffee bits and pecans for a wonderful crunch.
Our Caramel Cream Cheese frosting is the perfect complement to this flavorful layer cake, and I love how easy it is to make! It has all of the tangy deliciousness that we love in a cream cheese frosting, but the addition of caramel sauce takes it to a new level. OH, so good!
I would definitely file this recipe under our fall favorites, although caramel lovers are going to request it year round. It’s just that good! We hope that you enjoy it!
How to make Toffee Pecan Caramel Cake
After baking this three layer (8 inch cake), we wrapped them in plastic wrap and foil while they were still warm and place them in the freezer. This is an optional step, but something that we always do with our cakes when time allows. It makes them even more moist!
After a few hours (or even up to a few months) in the freezer, allow to thaw on the countertop while still wrapped. Unwrap once condensation forms on the foil and allow to thaw to desired temperature. (Some people prefer to assemble their cakes while still partially frozen so that they are easier to handle).
Next, we placed the bottom layer of cake onto our pedestal and glazed with a thin layer of caramel. There was no need to pipe a dam of frosting around the caramel as it just sinks into the cake. We used store bought caramel for convenience!
We followed that with a layer of our Caramel Cream Cheese frosting/filling. And repeated the steps for the second layer. Then, we placed the last layer of cake.
*Settling the cake is an optional step but one that I like to do to prevent bulges in the frosting later. To settle, I wrap the filled, unfrosted cake tier in plastic wrap and place a weight of some sort on top. Something that will apply a steady, light pressure. This could be a cake pan or two, a book, etc. Allow to settle for a few hours. (This can be done in the refrigerator since we’re working with cream cheese filling.)
Finally, I frosted the cake with a layer of our caramel cream cheese frosting and decorated the top with a spiral of caramel. My border is a mixture of crushed pecans and toffee bits, and the top piping was created with a french piping tip and more pecans! I love the look of this cake, but even more, the taste is amazing! We hope that you enjoy it!
Looking for other FAVORITE Fall Cakes? We Have Lots!
We have several layer cakes that I would consider perfect for fall celebrations, whether for fall birthdays or the dessert table at Thanksgiving! You just cannot go wrong with any of these (and I highly recommend that you try out as any as you can!)
*Don’t miss our full roundup of favorite fall cake recipe and cake decorating ideas: Favorite Cake Design and Recipe Ideas for Fall!
Toffee Pecan Caramel Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
This moist and flavorful Toffee Pecan Caramel Cake has such a wonderful combination of flavors!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs, room temperature (to warm quickly — put into a bowl with very warm water for 10 minutes.)
- 1 cup (200g) white sugar
- 1 cup (217g) light brown sugar (packed into measuring cup)
- 3 cups (342g) cake flour, (if you do not have a scale, spoon into a measuring cup and level off with back of a knife) See NOTE below for cake flour substitute
- 1 Tablespoon (12g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 1 cup (242g) sour cream
- 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (121g) whole milk ( we used whole milk)
- ¼ cup (54g) vegetable oil (canola oil)
- ½ cup (72g) toffee bits ( we used Heath Bits O' Brickle toffee bits)
- ½ cup (49g) chopped pecans
For the Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 (8oz) (226g) package full fat cream cheese (Light or reduced fat cream cheese will be too soft for the recipe)
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
- 6 cups (690g) powdered sugar (½ cup more if needed)
- 3 Tablespoons (42g) caramel sauce ( we used Smucker's Caramel Topping)
For Decoration/Decorative Accents on Cake
- Optional: Additional crushed pecans and toffee bits for border, and whole pecans for accents on top.
Instructions
For the Cake Layers
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, if using dark colored pans reduce heat to 325 degrees. Grease and flour three 8x2 inch round pans.
In a separate bowl combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk at least 30 seconds to blend. Set aside.
In another bowl combine the sour cream, vanilla, oil and milk. Stir and set aside.
In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter and beat on low to medium speed until smooth. Slowly add the white and brown sugar beating on MEDIUM speed until the mixture is lighter in color and fluffy, approximately 3 to 5 minutes ( a bit longer if using a hand mixer). Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg until the yellow of the yolk is blended in.
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scraping the bowl at least twice. Once the batter is mixed, using a spatula fold in the toffee bits and the chopped pecans. The cake batter is thick, this will help to keep the nuts and toffee bits from sinking to the bottom of the pan.
Pour batter into 3 prepared cake pans and bake for 22 to 25 minutes. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Let the cakes cool 5 to 10 minutes then turn out.
Makes 8 cups of batter
Works well for cupcakes - bake cupcakes at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes
In the bowl of your mixer, add the softened butter and cream cheese, mix until smooth. Do not mix above medium speed.
Slowly add the powdered sugar along with the caramel topping, salt and vanilla. Mix until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
Don't over mix or it may become too soft. If it does become too soft, refrigerate for 10 minutes or so to firm it up to a consistency you like. If you plan to do any piping, you may need to chill the piping bag occasionally, as warm hands soften the frosting.
NOTE: Substitution for cake flour: For each cup of flour in the recipe, measure out 1 cup all purpose flour (plain in the UK) remove 2 Tablespoons of the all purpose flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK). This recipe has 3 cups of flour so measure 3 cups of all purpose flour, remove 6 Tablespoons and replace with 6 Tablespoons cornstarch. Whisk to blend.
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
Place the first cake layer onto your cake base or pedestal. Spread a thin layer of caramel. Follow with the Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting. Add the other layer and repeat. Top with the last layer and frost the cake as desired .
*We used additional crushed pecans mixed with toffee bits to press around the base of the cake. We also piped a spiral of caramel on top using a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away. We used a french piping tip for the decorative stars around the top, and used pecan halves for additional decoration.
If you are interested in learning more about cake decorating, check out our Free Tutorials section, including our section of Free Cake Video Tutorials!
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That looks delish! :-)
Thanks Teri! xo
Did you add toffee and pecans to the cake batter? Am planning on making this cake next week. Looks great!! Nona C
Hi Connie, I see that you are a new member, thanks so much for joining. Yes, once the batter is mixed, using a spatula fold in the toffee bits and the chopped pecans. The cake batter is thick, this will help to keep the nuts and toffee bits from sinking to the bottom of the pan. I hope you will enjoy the cake.
Now I know that perfection exists. This cake looks so… elegant. And I imagine how it makes your house smell. The perfect cake to linger over with a cup of tea or coffee. I have so much admiration for people who bake cakes with such great elaborate decorations. It makes me so inspired. Thank you for sharing Melissa! Keep the amazing recipes coming!
Thanks so much for your kind words, Ann! xoxo
Question. .
when those toffee bits bake, do they melt and become soft, or do they have a crunch when you eat the cake?
Hi JJ- I don’t remember there being a crunch. The toffee bits do melt at least some if not completely. I hope that you like the cake!
Your website and recipes look lovely. I look forward to spending more time on your site.
Kindest Regards,
Rebecca L Sizemore
Thank you, Rebecca
I made the cake last night and it turned out so dry and heavy, not light at all. I decided I would put some simple syrup to bring some moisture to the cake. Don’t know if that will help at all. Do you think it should have had more leavening of some sort to make it fluffier? What could I have done to make it lighter? I’m frosting the cake this evening. I’ll let you know when we eat it, what others think.
Hi Maria, I’m sorry that your cake didn’t turn out. This cake shouldn’t be dry or heavy. I wonder if your ingredient measurements could have been off? If you have a digital scale, it’s best to measure by weight to make sure that the amounts are as we intended. However, if you would rather measure your flour, etc. with a scoop measure, gently spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a knife to make sure that nothing is packed down. I hope you’ll try it again.
Hello! I am planning on making this cake the day before thanksgiving. The last comment has me nervous. Hopefully mine won’t turn dry. I make cakes quite often. This just looks absolutely delish. What kind of syrup did you use? Like Hershey Carmel? Or the thick kind of Carmel for ice cream topping?
Hi Carine, I’m glad that you are making this! We just used Smuckers Caramel topping, it is not a thick caramel. You can see the jar in one of the photos above if you’d like to see what the label looks like.
Hi Carine, Don’t worry about this recipe giving you a dry cake, there are many reasons a cake can be dry, most common is over baking. Other causes can be, incorrect baking temperature, an oven thermometer will let you know if your oven is baking at the temperature you have set. Too much flour, it is best to use a scale to weigh your ingredients. Without a scale, spoon flour into a measure cup meant for dry ingredients, overfill the cup slightly and level off with the back of a knife. Hope you will enjoy the recipe. Hope you will enjoy the cake.
Welp: I’m back and made the cake like I said I would. Didn’t do the wrapping and freezing as I want to get done. Lol. However I tasted pieces of the cake that stuck to my pan as it was cooling. And OMGoodness!!! I believe this is gonna be a hit. Tasteee. Texture perfect, time accurate. Flavors powerful. Thanks so much for this recipe, have a great thanksgiving.
Hi Carine, Thanks so much for the follow-up and the nice comments about the recipe. Love the picture, the cake looks divine! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
This looks wonderful! Do you happen to have this for cup cake form or even a 6 in cake??
Hi Natalie, The recipe can be used to make cupcakes, there is also enough batter to make four 6 inch layers.
Hi.
I was wondering if you can leave the nuts out (allergies) & just use toffee bits? It’s looks so good. I want to make this as a birthday cake for a friend.
Thanks & Cheers from Australia
Melissa
Yes, you can leave out the nuts and just use the toffee bits. Hope you enjoy the cake.
I added a few things to your delicious cake! Thanks for the inspiration! Here is my “Caramel Toffee” cake.
Hi Nona, Your cake is beautiful, I love the look!! Thank you for posting your picture!
Can this cake be gluten free? If so what flour would you use?
Hi Sondra, I am sorry that we do not have a gluten free cake. If you have a white or yellow gluten free cake that you like, you could use our recipe as a guide to make changes. Such as – adding light brown sugar to replace some of the sugar in your recipe. Also, adding toffee bits and pecans and frosting with the Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting. It would be your gluten free version of our cake. If you give it a try, let us know what you think. Hope all goes well.
I was planning to make this toffee cake for a birthday and I just realized my pans are 9 inch instead of 8. Have you ever tried this with 9 inch pans is it still enough batter? I’d still like to have the three layers I’m not sure if I tried to adjust the recipe for more batter I would get it right :(
Hi Melanie, This recipe makes 8 cups of batter. If your pans are 9 inches round by 2 inches deep, you could could use up to 5 1/2 cups of batter per pan. You could divide the batter between your 3 pans knowing that the layers will not be very high. Another option is to bake in two 9×2 inch pans, 4 cups in each pan. Once baked and cooled you could cut the 2 layers in half giving you a 4 layer cake. Bakers often like to do this, giving them more frosting per bite. If you go this route, I would increase the ingredients in the frosting recipe by 1/2. Let me know if you need help with increasing the measurements.
Hi! If I halved the recipe could I make cupcakes?
Hi Amanda, Yes, you can divide the recipe in half. For standard size cupcakes, bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. This recipe has 3 eggs, so you need 1 and 1/2 eggs……to get 1/2 egg, break an egg into a bowl, whisk to throughly blend the white and yolk. Two tablespoons will be 1/2 egg. Cupcakes using a scratch recipe will bake with only a slight dome.
Just made this tonight for my husband’s birthday cake! I jiggled the flour around a little bit to make it gluten free, but it is by far the best tasting cake I’ve ever made! Thanks for this delicious recipe!
@Canadian_Sadie- Yay! I’m so glad to hear it. Thanks so much for your feedback, I hope your husband has a great birthday!
Hi Donna, Your completed cake will need to be refrigerated if you frosted with cream cheese frosting because it is perishable. It should be fine refrigerated for up to 5 days. It will not dry out if kept under a cake dome or in an airtight container.
Hi.
In the recipe is 226 gr of cream cheese or 453 gr as the others cream cheese recipe please for?
Because the others recipe ( vanilla etc) have the same portion with 226 gr of butter and 690 g of powdered sugar but 453 gr for cream cheese.
Thank you
Hi Sandrine- This is sort of a cross between buttercream and cream cheese frosting- it has a bit more sugar also than the other cream cheese frostings- this allows us to add the caramel sauce and vanilla without making it too soft.
I’ve been watching a bit too many baking shows during quarantine lol… I searched for a cake recipe of my favorite flavors and so glad I found this! This was my first time ever baking a cake from scratch and I’m so proud! I followed the directions to the letter. It came out very dense, but I like it! And this could be beginner baker error still lol but I think it still works well, the toffee and pecans were perfectly spread out! I also made my own caramel sauce since I had the time, I def recommend that also if you can! I also only used 4 cups of powdered sugar for my frosting because that’s all I had and I actually liked that personally to make it a little less sweet. Thank you for this recipe, guess who’s having cake for breakfast lol
Hi Sara, Your first scratch cake, it looks divine, I’m so glad you gave the recipe a try! If it was dense it could be because the butter and sugar was not mixed long enough. If the butter and sugar have not lightened in color and taken on a look of fluffiness, mix a little longer. Butter can hold air and this happens when creaming it with sugar. During baking the trapped air expands giving you a less dense cake. Thanks so much for posting and giving your review.
Looks AMAZING! Trying TODAY! Sara thats impressive!
Thank you kindly for the recipe.
I made this cake for my Mum’s bday today. I halved the recipe. Cake looks good. We haven’t tasted it yet but I am sure it will be yummy. The ingredients were just too much to resist making this cake. Thank you for this.
Thanks for trying the recipe, I hope you will enjoy it.
I made this cake for my mum’s bday today. It came out really well. Thanks for this awesome recipe ????
Wow!! It looks divine, thanks so much for posting a photo!
Hi everybody!! Just I am making this cake for my husband birthday tomorrow, so far is looking good, later I will show you all how I did.
I will be making this cake for my daughter’s birthday next week. My question is I have regular thick Carmel, how do I turn it into a sauce for this recipe?