Description
Southern bakers cherish this butter pecan praline poke cake recipe as a delightful dessert blending rich caramel notes with nutty undertones. Sweet layers absorb luscious praline sauce, creating an irresistible Southern classic you’ll want to share with friends and family.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 box (15 oz / 425 g) butter pecan cake mix
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 0.75 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 can (16 oz / 454 g) coconut pecan frosting
- 1 can (14 oz / 397 g) sweetened condensed milk
- 0.25 cup (57 g) butter
- 2 cups chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preparation: Warm the oven to 350°F and coat a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray, creating a non-stick surface for the cake.
- Batter Creation: Combine yellow cake mix, coconut pecan frosting, eggs, vegetable oil, and whole milk in a large bowl, whisking until the mixture transforms into a silky, uniform batter. Fold in finely chopped pecans, distributing them evenly throughout the mixture.
- Baking Process: Pour the batter into the prepared dish, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 33-38 minutes, monitoring with a toothpick inserted in the center to ensure complete cooking.
- Hole Preparation: Immediately after removing from the oven, puncture the cake’s surface with a wooden spoon handle, creating channels for sauce absorption.
- Sauce Development: In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Incorporate sweetened condensed milk and additional chopped pecans, stirring continuously until the mixture becomes smooth and heated through.
- Sauce Infusion: Gently cascade the warm pecan sauce over the hot cake, allowing it to penetrate the created holes, ensuring maximum flavor integration.
- Cooling and Serving: Let the cake rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours, enabling complete cooling and flavor melding before slicing and presenting.
Notes
- Prep Like a Pro: Use room temperature eggs and milk for smoother, more consistent cake batter that rises evenly.
- Pecan Power: Toast chopped pecans briefly before adding to enhance their nutty flavor and prevent sinking in the batter.
- Hole-Making Technique: Create holes immediately after baking while cake is still warm to ensure maximum sauce absorption.
- Sauce Consistency: Keep sauce warm and slightly runny when pouring to help it penetrate deeply into cake holes for rich, caramel-like flavor infusion.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 417
- Sugar: 35 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg