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!
Thawing the Layers
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
*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.)
Decorating the Cake
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!
Enjoy the Recipe!
Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this Toffee Pecan Cake. If you give it a try, we would love for you to leave a comment and photo below!
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
For the Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
- 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.
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.
Notes
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.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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?
Thank you for the recipe! I made the cake a week before servicing it and froze the cakes as you suggested. The cake was moist and delicious, it made a fabulous Thanksgiving dessert last night!! 🇨🇦
Hi Caroline! I'm so glad to hear it. Your cake looks fabulous!
how long do you bake if using half recipe and in 6 inch pans ? please
Ok so this is my first ever scratch cake that I'm baking for Thanksgiving for my family, I didn't have enough batter to fill pans all the way up to the top of them, am I supposed to fill it right full or leave a bit of space for it to rise? Also, I used darker pans and reduced heat for the first two layers (only have 2 8x2 pans) and I felt like the 22-25 mins was not nearly long enough. I ended up having it in the oven for almost 50 mins. The third layer I upped the temp to 350° and in for the 22 mins and had to add another 15 mins. I know it wasn't my oven because it's only a year old and I made the batter exactly what the recipe calls for, so that's weird. I do have them currently in the freezer, how long does it normally take to defrost, I'm planning on frosting tomorrow? Also do I need to shave off a thin layer before adding the caramel and frosting between the layers? I did get a little taste and it was amazing so I'm super excited to see how it turns out and how everyone will enjoy it. Thank you so much for the recipe my 8 month pregnant self couldn't resist making it!!!
Hi Kynesha, I'm sorry that we didn't see your comment sooner. It's strange about the bake time, unless by chance the oven wasn't preheated in advance? As a general rule, you wouldn't want to fill your pans more than 2/3 full.
I'm glad that it sounds like they baked up for you (even if it took some extra time!). When we freeze our cake layers, we usually allow them to sit on the counter for about 30-45 minutes before unwrapping- and then assemble it (often the layers are partially frozen when we assemble as they are less fragile that way). I would still allow another 2-3 hours for the cake to warm to room temperature.
I hope that you all enjoyed the cake, and congrats on your little one on the way! ;0)
This cake is so perfect. So beautiful. Definitely up there with one of the best cakes I have ever made. We all absolutely loved it! My husband loves caramel so this cake for made for him upon his return from a business trip. My 11 year old daughter decorated it with the icing (which was so yum!) and some caramel and some toffee bits then sprayed some gold shimmer all over. It was soooo perfect and just damn delicious! Thank you so much!
Sometimes people would say oh the icing makes the cake but in this case everything was 100% amazing.
Hi Sofy! Thanks so much for your review. We really appreciate it- So glad that you all enjoyed the cake!! xo
Well, if this cake tastes as good as it looks, my family will be very happy! Made this cake for my son's birthday! We will be cutting into it later today, but it looks spectacular! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Hi Rhonda, Your cake is perfectly beautiful, thank you for posting your photo!!