Coconut Caramel Cake with Pecan Buttercream- Layersof fluffy coconut cake, filled with a caramel pecan coconut filling. Frosted and coated in a nutty pecan buttercream.
While Summer comes to a close and the leaves begin to change their colors, this Coconut Caramel Cake with Pecan Buttercream is the quintessential Summer cake. The coconut caramel will be the perfect bookend to a perfect Summer, and the Pecan buttercream will act as a foreshadowing for all that is great about the Fall. If coconut and caramel are your thing, then this is a must-bake for you!
For more recipes, here are some of my summer favorites
- The Most Enjoyable Light Lemon Cake
- The Best and Irresistible Cookie Dough Cake
- Season’s Best Triple Berry Cake
Why this recipe works
- Coconut cake layers- tender layers of coconut with coconut emulsion and coconut milk.
- Caramel- homemade caramel sauce made with fresh ingredients.
- Candied pecans- toasted and candied pecans made with sugar, and a hint of salt.
- Easy to make– If you’re new to making a layer cake, this is a great cake to start with. There aren’t too many elements and the elements that are present are easy to make!
- Layered cake-This is a three-layer 8-inch cake, but if you have 4, 6-inch pans, that will also work.
- The perfect dessert for any occasion-Whether this is a dessert for a special family get together, or just a weeknight treat, your family and friends will love eating this cake while discussing their great summer.
Ingredients you will need
- Unsalted Butter- Make sure it is room temperature
- Eggs- You will use this for the cake, pull them out so they are room temperature.
- Coconut milk- You will want a low sugar and high fat coconut milk. I use this brand you can here
- Coconut Emulsion- I love LorAnn’s, but if you can’t find it you can use Coconut Extract
- Pecan- I use chopped and unsalted
- Shredded coconut- I used unsweetened.
- Corn syrup- This is optional, but I highly recommend it to help you succeed in making the best caramel.
- Powder sugar- You will use about 6 cups.
- Heavy cream- I use full-fat heavy cream.
Step by step – Caramel
Here is how to make the worlds best caramel sauce ever.
Step 1: Mix the water, sugar, and corn syrup. In a medium-sized saucepan, stir together the water, sugar, and the corn syrup.
Step 2: Cook the Mixture. On medium-heat, bring the sugar to a boil. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization (which is bad).
Step 3: Let it boil. Let it boil until the mixture becomes caramelized and looks golden brown/auburn color. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it’s easy to burn it, so keep an eye on it.
Step 4: Heat the cream. Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
Step 5: Add the cream. Once the caramel is ready for the cream, turn off the heat on the sugar mixture and add the warm cream. Mix the caramel mixture until evenly combined.
Step 6: Add the rest of the ingredients. Add the vanilla extract, toasted coconut, pecans, and salt. Stir to combine. Let it come to room temperature before using on your cake.
Assembly
Here are some of my favorite cake decorating equipment that will be helpful while decorating
Turn table, offset spatula, cake scraper, cake leveler.
- Place the first cake layer topside up, in the center of the cake board. Gently spread ½ of the buttercream over the cake layer.
- Spread about ¾ cup pecan coconut caramel filling on top the buttercream and pat into place.
- Repeat with second cake layer.
- Place the final cake layer, topside down, on the second layer of filling.
- Apply a thin layer of buttercream around the cake. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Once the crumb coat is set, continue frosting the cake with the remaining buttercream. Decorate with extra coconut flakes.
Expert baking tips
- When you are making the cake batter, make sure to really cream the butter and the sugar. I can’t stress this enough! This helps create air pockets in your cake layers that also help it rise.
- Use high quality cake pans. This helps prevent your cake layers from browning on the sides. I always use Fat Daddios cake pans. You can find the ones I use here:
- I say this a lot because I think it’s really important… USE ROOM TEMP ingredients! Making sure all of your ingredients are the same temp is a must!
- To get a creamy and smooth buttercream, add a Tablespoon of whipping cream once you finish mixing the buttercream. Then beat by hand with a rubber spatula to get all the air bubbles out.
- Do a crumb coat. Don’t skip this step. It helps secure the crumbs onto the cake and makes decorating easier.
FAQ
Can I make this into a sheet cake?
Yes, this can be turned into a sheet cake, four 6-inch cake pans, or a 9×13 (if you do a 9×13, it will need to bake for 40-45 minutes).
Can these be made into cupcakes?
YES! You just need to reduce the baking time to 23-27 minutes.
Can I make this ahead of time?
I highly suggest making each element a head of time, and then decorating the next day.
Storing and freezing
Store this Coconut Caramel Cake with Pecan Buttercream in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap. I would leave uneaten portions in the fridge and pull a couple hours and bring up to room temperature.
Freezing
Freeze individual cake slices in plastic wrap and freeze up to 3 months.
If you love this recipe, please remember to rate and review it!
For more fun recipes here are some of my favorite
Recipe
Coconut Caramel Cake with Pecan Buttercream
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 large whole eggs, room temperature
- 3 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon coconut emulsion I use Lorann’s coconut extract is fine too!
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups canned coconut milk high fat and low sugar.
For the caramel
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups shredded coconut
For the pecan butter
- 3 cups chopped pecans
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon canola or grape seed oil more as needed.
- Pinch of salt
For the pecan buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter chilled
- 6 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 Recipe pecan butter
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and line with parchment. Spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk or sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium high speed until light/fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and beat again for 1-2 more minutes.
- Add the eggs and the egg whites, one at a time, beat on medium-speed until, after each addition, until well incorporated (around 30 seconds after each egg) Once all the eggs have been added, beat on medium speed high for 1 minute. Add the emulsion and mix on low, just until incorporated.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the liquid mixture followed by ½ of the coconut milk. Add another ⅓ of the flour mixture, and then the rest of the coconut milk, and finally add the remaining flour mixture. Don’t over mix. Only mix until just incorporated. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure the batter is evenly mixed.
- With a kitchen scale, evenly distribute the batter to the prepped pans (about 16 ounces of batter in each cake pan). If you don’t have a scale just eyeball it.
- Bake for 28-32 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick has little to no crumbs sticking to it. Mine took the full 32 minutes, but it can go faster depending on your oven.
- After they are done baking, let the cakes cool for 10-15 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool until room temperature.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and store in fridge or freezer until ready to use.
For the caramel
- Preheat your oven to 350, line a sheetpan with parchment paper. Pour the shredded coconut on top and bake for 4 minutes, pull the coconut out of the oven stir with a spatula, and then bake for 3-4 more minutes. The coconut should be light brown and toasted. Set aside to cool when done.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, with a rubber spatula, stir together the water, sugar, and corn syrup.
- On medium heat, bring the sugar mixture to a boil. Do not stir. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization.
- Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Let the mixture boil until it becomes caramelized and looks golden brown. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it’s easy to burn it, so keep an eye on it.
- Once the caramel is an amber, brown, turn off the heat, add the warm cream, and let the mixture steam, and then stir. Be careful not to burn yourself
- Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add the vanilla extract and salt. Mix until combined. Let the caramel come to room temperature.
- Once the caramel has come to room temperature, add the toasted coconut, and the chopped candied pecans.
- Store in an airtight container for up 4 days.
For the pecan butter
- Over medium heat, sauté all the pecans in a frying pan with the tablespoon of butter, stirring frequently. Once coated and toasted, take one cup of the sautéed pecans, and let them cool on parchment paper or a sheet pan.
- Add the sugar to the remaining pecans on the stove, and with a rubber spatula, stir until the sugar is coating the pecans and it sticks. Once coated and cooked, transfer the candied pecans to parchment paper to come down to room temperature.
- In a food processor, blend the one cup of sautéed pecans with 1 tablespoon oil, and salt. Pulse until you’ve created a smooth nut butter.
- With the other candied pecans, chop them into small bite size pieces. Set aside while you make the caramel.
For the buttercream
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
- Add pecan butter. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined, with a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, add all the powdered sugar, followed by the cream. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the buttercream for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- With a wooden spoon, spend about 5 minutes beating all the air pockets to create a nice and smooth buttercream.
Assembly
- Place the first cake layer topside up, in the center of the cake board. Gently spread ½ of the buttercream over the cake layer.
- Spread about ¾ cup pecan coconut caramel filling on top the buttercream and pat into place.
- Repeat with second cake layer.
- Place the final cake layer, topside down, on the second layer of filling.
- Apply a thin layer of buttercream around the cake. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Once the crumb coat is set, continue frosting the cake with the remaining buttercream. Decorate with extra coconut flakes.
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