Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Tons of warm brown sugar and vanilla flavor that’s perfectly complemented by the buttery pecans.
Texture: The cake is ultra moist, tender, and spongy while the glaze is thick and lucious. The crunchy pecans studded throughout are the perfect balance!
Ease: Super simple recipe. No stand mixer required and takes under an hour from start to finish.
Pros: Perfect recipe for fall! Easy to transport to family.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Absolutely.
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This Butter Pecan Sheet Cake is the perfect quick and easy recipe for any fall party … or those times when you just want a slice of cake.
You know those days when you’re really craving cake but have no time or energy to construct an entire layer cake? My Butter Pecan Sheet Cake recipe is perfect for those days.
No mixer. No waiting for butter to come to room temperature. No waiting for cake layers to cool. No assembly. And no decorating!
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One of the things I adore most about this recipe is the cake-to-icing ratio. Sheet cakes are traditionally on the thin side, so you get a generous amount of icing in each bite!
This cake is made extra rich and delicious thanks to the Tillamook Extra Creamy Unsalted Butter.
You may know Tillamook from their amazing cheese and ice cream products and I’m pleased to report their butter is just as amazing. It’s made with just two simple ingredients, but it’s extra creamy and really adds something special to any recipe.
Check out where to score Tillamook butter in a store near you.
(By the way, if you’re craving cheese, check out my Easy Cheddar Biscuit recipe!)
This recipe is ridiculously quick and easy, but I’ve included some tips and answers to common sheet cake questions below.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Butter Pecan Sheet Cake
How is Texas-Style Sheet Cake Made?
This is basically a super easy method of making sheet cake that will feel totally wrong if you’ve never done it before. You melt the butter with water on the stovetop, then add the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients. It’s the complete opposite of preparing the batter for a traditional layer cake, but it all comes together into an ultra-moist, spongey, and soft cake!
How to Make Moist, Fluffy Cake
- Measure your flour correctly – Too much flour will result in a heavy, dry cake. I recommend using a digital scale, or if you don’t have a scale, use the spoon and level method.
- Buttermilk – Real buttermilk helps create a rich, tender, light cake. I recommend using real buttermilk if possible, but whole milk will also work if needed. Learn more about Buttermilk in baking here.
- Don’t reduce the sugar – Sugar does so much more in baking beyond sweetening. Learn more about sugar’s role in baking.
What’s the Best Baking Pan for This Sheet Cake?
- This recipe was developed to use a 10 by 15-inch jelly roll baking pan.
- I highly recommend using a light-colored pan as opposed to one with a dark nonstick coating, as that will dry out the edges more quickly.
- If you use a larger pan your cake will be very thin and you’ll need to decrease the baking time.
- Using a smaller pan, such as 9 by 13-inches, you will need to increase the baking time to about 30 minutes.
How to Store Sheet Cake
Once baked and cooled, this cake can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If you’ve already sliced the cake into individual portions, the exposed cake will dry out much faster than if it’s stored unsliced. Place slices in an airtight container with a piece of wax paper or parchment under each slice to come up the sides, to prevent them from drying out.
More Sheet Cake Recipes You’ll Love:
Butter Pecan Sheet Cake
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Ingredients
For the butter pecans:
- 3 tablespoons (43 grams) Tillamook Extra Creamy Unsalted Butter, diced
- 2 cups (227 grams) pecan halves, finely chopped
For the cake:
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 sticks (227 grams) Tillamook Extra Creamy Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- 1 stick (113 grams) Tillamook Extra Creamy Unsalted Butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
Make the butter pecans:
- In a large stainless skillet set over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the pecans and cook until lightly browned and fragrant, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Spread on a baking sheet to cool.
Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 10-by-15-inch jellyroll pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the butter and water and heat until the butter melts. Bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, remove from heat and add in the flour mixture. Let cool slightly before adding in the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Gently stir in three-quarters of the butter pecans.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Tap the pan against the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake for about 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool slightly on a cooling rack while you make the glaze.
- Make ahead: The cake can be made a day ahead of time. Store covered at room temperature.
Make the glaze:
- Combine the butter and cream in a large heat-proof bowl. Microwave until the butter is melted. You can also do this using a small saucepan on the stove.
- Whisk in the brown sugar and powdered sugar until combined. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Pour evenly over the warm cake. Sprinkle immediately with remaining butter pecans.
- Let set for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Cake can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
This post was published in 2020 and has been updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
The glaze is asking for 1/8 teaspoon fine salt but the steps don’t include when/where to add it. Help?
Just updated, thank you for letting us know! You’ll add it in along with the vanilla. Enjoy!
Thank you! As a totally novice baker I have one more question. When toasting the pecans should I chop them before or after?
Chop them before cooking them in the butter so they really soak up all that buttery goodness 🙂
Made this last night. I did it in a 9×13 pan and everyone loved it.
Thank you! I was wondering about the best pan size to use for this recipe.
Very delicious! This was a big hit. I doubled it and made two 9×13 cakes for my husband and I to each take to work. 30 min bake time was perfect for my oven. Multiple people stated to each of us that this is one of the best desserts they had ever eaten! I was concerned during the baking of it due to the process being different, but it came out beautifully.
I made this Butter Pecan Sheet Cake this weekend for my mother’s birthday. It turned out great and, most importantly, is delicious. Also it was very easy to make. Unfortunately I had an issue with the glaze/icing. It just stayed liquidy and never thickened, so I didn’t use it. Obviously I did something wrong, I’m just not sure what. I’ll definitely make this recipe again, though, and give the glaze/icing another try. I served the cake (without the icing) with pecan pralines’n cream ice cream, and it was great.
So happy you enjoyed this cake, Joelle!
My husband just declared this is the best cake I’ve ever made! This cake is to die for — and will be on regular rotation in my house for any and all occasion. Thanks for this recipe!
So, so glad to hear this Marsha!
My husband just declared this is the best cake I’ve ever made! Full disclosure – it took much longer to make (I’m not the fastest’ most experienced baker in the world…but it took double the time from start to finish) but it was well worth the effort. The process of cooking the batter was totally new to me — but the result was the moistest cake I’ve ever had. Made it in a 9×13 pan and after 25 minutes it was done — so make sure to check before the 30 recommended minutes to ensure you don’t over bake. And the frosting/glaze was a totally revelation. This cake is to die for — and will be on regular rotation in my house for any and all occasion. Thanks for this recipe!
Can you post the video please ? I don’t understand English very well
Hi Nour, we actually have not recorded a video for this recipe. Sorry!
The butter pecan sheet cake calls for baking powder and baking soda is that correct
Yes it is correct!
Sounds like a good recipe. Just wondering why you used water with the melted butter.
I’m not familiar with a 10 x 15 sheet pan. Do you mean a half size sheet pan? 12 x 18″?
You can also use a 9 by 13-inches pan, but you’ll need to increase the baking time to about 30 minutes.
Since I eat gluten free, I substituted gluten free flour and added 1/4 tsp of xantham gum. The cake was perfect! This is definitely a keeper! I am planning on freezing some of it, as there are only 3 of us at my home.
Yay! So happy you tried this recipe out!