The Easiest “Fancy” Dessert You’ll Ever Bake
What if you could get all the rich, caramelized, nutty magic of a pecan pie — but in cake form, with just 8 ingredients and zero cake mix? This pecan pie cake is that recipe, and it’s been the most-requested dessert at every family gathering since the first time I made it. No pie crust to fuss with, no cake mix box in sight, and absolutely no complicated steps. Just a dense, chewy, brown-sugar-loaded cake packed with toasted pecans that tastes like pecan pie and blondies had a baby. I brought this to a holiday potluck and someone literally tried to pay me for the recipe. (I gave it away for free — and now I’m giving it to you.) If you love from-scratch baking that actually feels effortless, this one’s your new best friend.
Just 8 Simple Ingredients (That’s It!)
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Chopped pecans | 2 cups |
| All-purpose flour | 1¼ cups |
| Eggs, room temperature | 4 large |
| Packed brown sugar | 2 cups |
| Pure vanilla extract | 1 Tbsp |
| Vegetable oil | ¾ cup |
| Salt | 1 scant tsp |
| Powdered sugar for dusting | Optional |
No butter to soften, no milk to measure, no cake mix to buy. This is pantry baking at its finest — simple ingredients that combine into something truly extraordinary.
How Long Does This Actually Take?
| Time | |
|---|---|
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Bake Time | 30–40 minutes |
| Total Time | ~50 minutes (plus cooling) |
Under an hour from bowl to done. Compare that to making an actual pecan pie from scratch — which typically takes 90+ minutes including the crust — and this pecan pie cake saves you nearly half the time while delivering the same irresistible flavor.
Let’s Bake This, Step by Step
Step 1: Preheat and Prep Your Pan
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan thoroughly and dust it with a light coating of flour, tapping out the excess.
Tip: For extra insurance against sticking (this cake is sticky thanks to all that brown sugar), line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper after greasing.
Step 2: Whisk the Dry Ingredients Together
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the 1¼ cups flour, 2 cups packed brown sugar, and 1 scant teaspoon of salt until everything is well blended and there are no brown sugar lumps.
Tip: Break apart any clumps of brown sugar with your fingers before whisking. Lumps in the dry mix can mean pockets of pure sugar in the finished cake — which sounds good until you bite into one and it’s gritty.
Step 3: Mix the Wet Ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk the 4 eggs, ¾ cup vegetable oil, and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
Tip: Room-temperature eggs incorporate better and create a smoother batter. Pull them out of the fridge 20 minutes before you start.
Step 4: Bring the Batter Together
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir until just combined. You want a smooth, thick batter — but stop the moment you don’t see streaks of flour. Overmixing is the enemy here.
Now fold in the 2 cups of chopped pecans with a spatula until they’re evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Tip: For even deeper flavor, toast your pecans in a dry skillet for 3–4 minutes before adding them. Toasting intensifies their nutty, buttery taste and adds an extra layer of crunch to every bite.
Step 5: Bake Until Set
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread it evenly with a spatula. Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until the top is set and golden and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Tip: Start checking at 30 minutes. Every oven is different, and this cake can go from perfect to overbaked quickly because of the high sugar content. The edges may look done before the center — that’s normal.
Step 6: Cool Completely, Then Dust and Slice
Let the cake cool completely in the pan — this is important because it firms up significantly as it cools. The warm cake is very soft and will fall apart if you try to cut it too soon.
Once cool, cut into squares and dust generously with powdered sugar for a beautiful, bakery-style presentation.
Tip: Use a fine-mesh sieve for the powdered sugar — it gives you that perfect, even, snowy dusting that makes the squares look absolutely gorgeous.
What’s in Each Serving? (The Numbers)
Estimated per serving (16 squares):
- Calories: ~290 kcal
- Fat: 17 g (Saturated: 2 g)
- Carbohydrates: 32 g (Sugar: 25 g)
- Protein: 4 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
Pecans are nutritional powerhouses — they’re one of the best nut sources of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and provide manganese, copper, and thiamine. So while this is definitely a treat, those pecans are pulling their weight nutritionally.
Ways to Make This Even More Irresistible
Serve these pecan pie cake squares warm with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream — the contrast of warm, chewy cake and cold cream is perfection.
For a drizzle upgrade, warm some caramel sauce or maple syrup and pour it over each slice. The brown sugar in the cake pairs with caramel like they were made for each other (because they basically are).
This cake is a natural showstopper at Thanksgiving, Christmas, potlucks, bake sales, and church suppers. It’s also incredible with a hot cup of coffee or chai tea for an afternoon treat.
Oops — Avoid These Common Slip-Ups
- Overmixing the batter. Too much stirring develops gluten, making the cake tough and cakey instead of dense and chewy. Fix: Stir only until the flour disappears — a few small lumps are perfectly fine.
- Cutting the cake while it’s still warm. This cake is very soft when hot and will crumble apart. Fix: Let it cool completely in the pan. Patience pays off here — the texture firms up beautifully.
- Using light brown sugar instead of dark. Light brown sugar works but gives a milder flavor. Fix: Use dark brown sugar if you can — it has more molasses, which deepens the butterscotch-pecan pie flavor.
- Skipping the pan prep. The high sugar content makes this cake very sticky. Fix: Grease and flour the pan, or line with parchment for guaranteed easy release.
- Overbaking. The high sugar content means the edges brown fast. Fix: Start checking at 30 minutes and pull it the moment a toothpick comes out clean.
Your New Holiday (and Every-Day) Hero
This pecan pie cake is everything a great from-scratch dessert should be — incredibly simple, made with pantry staples, and so ridiculously delicious that people will think you spent hours on it. Dense, chewy, loaded with toasted pecans, and drenched in brown sugar flavor — it captures every single thing we love about pecan pie in an easy, no-fuss sheet cake. No cake mix, no pie crust, no stress.
Bake a batch this weekend and tell me in the comments how fast it disappeared! I’d love to hear if you tried the toasted pecan trick. And if you love pecan desserts, don’t miss our Pecan Praline Cookies recipe for another nutty favorite. Rate the recipe below and subscribe for more! 🥧
Pecan Pie Cake From Scratch (No Cake Mix Needed!)
Equipment
- 9×13-inch baking pan
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped pecans toasted for extra flavor
- 1.25 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs large, room temperature
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 0.75 cup vegetable oil
- 1 scant tsp salt
- powdered sugar optional, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat and Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and salt until well blended with no lumps.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Combine and Fold: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the chopped pecans until evenly distributed.
- Bake: Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and Serve: Let cake cool completely in the pan. Cut into squares and dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.
