Brown Sugar Caramel Pound Cake

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This Brown Sugar Pound Cake is amazingly moist bursting with sweet toffee bits, crunchy pecans and rich creamy caramel in every bite!

This Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake is the most AMAZING crowd pleasing cake! The brown sugar cake itself is rich, moist, and decadent and the homemade caramel sauce is out of this world delicious – seriously the best you will ever make or try. This Brown Sugar Pound Cake is quick and easy to make from scratch (yay for no rolling individual cookies!) and will be a hit everywhere you take it.

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caramel pound cake drizzled with caramel sauce. a slice is missing.

Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake

I am so excited to share with you this Toffee Pecan Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake! I know that’s a loaded name, but this cake is LOADED with epic deliciousness! It comes from my love of everything brown sugar, caramel, toffee and pecan.

Every year my mother-in-law gifts us with homemade toffee at Christmas time. It is my most favorite food/dessert combined that I eat all holiday season. She gives all of us a bag of toffee as we depart her home. It doesn’t last the car ride. (Get the toffee recipe here)

So naturally, the combination of toffee pecans, creamy caramel and brown sugar in CAKE form is the best combination IN. THE. WORLD. In fact, the first time I made this Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake, I didn’t have a bundt cake pan, so I adjusted the cooking time and the result was an overcooked cake. Even still, I brought the entire cake to a baby shower and and left with an empty plate and a long list of people to email the recipe to.

Because this Toffee Pecan Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake is a crowd pleasing cake.

A toffee lover pleasing cake.

A caramel lover pleasing cake.

A pecan lover pleasing cake.

And simply a dessert lover pleasing cake.

In short, everyone loves this Brown Sugar Pound Cake making it perfect for large gatherings (think Easter, Christmas, Mother’s Day).

Or better yet, small gatherings. Because you get to eat more cake. And believe me, you will want to eat more cake.

Woman holding brown sugar caramel pound cake on white platter.

caramel Pound Cake Ingredients

Despite its long name, this brown sugar caramel pound cake has a short list of ingredients.

Unsalted butter: Unsalted is the way to go when baking so you can control the amount of salt in the dessert.
Light brown sugar: Make sure it’s packed tightly into the measuring cup when measuring it.
Granulated sugar: This is a fairly sweet cake, embrace it!
Eggs: Should be room temperature before making this recipe.
All-purpose flour: Provides structure. I don’t like using cake flour for this brown sugar pecan pound cake.
Baking powder: Gives the cake some lift.
Salt: You need a little salt to enhance the overall flavor and balance out the sweetness of the batter.
Whole milk: USE WHOLE MILK. Don’t sub low-fat!
Toffee bits: I use Heath Bits O’ Brickle Toffee Bits.
Chopped pecans: You want to use raw unsalted pecans.
Caramel sauce: See my tips below on which caramel sauce to use.

What’s the Best Caramel to Use?

When I first made this Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake, I already thought it was nearly perfect, but needed a different caramel sauce. After experimenting with several caramel recipes for this cake, I discovered my Easy Creamy Caramel Sauce Recipe. It is foolproof – if you can boil butter, brown sugar and a smidgen of water then stir in evaporated milk and vanilla, than you can make this caramel in 5 minutes! SO EASY!

I am asked for the recipe for this Caramel Sauce every time I bring it anywhere! Its rich, creamy, buttery and sweet and 1,000 times better than any store bought Caramel Sauce Recipe. It is lick-the-jar-delicious and makes everything it touches better. So just imagine that epic deliciousness enveloping this Brown Sugar Pound Cake?! Indescribably, outrageously, otherworldly delicious.

close up of brown sugar pound cake on cooling rack

How to Make Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake

This is such an easy pound cake recipe! Here are the basic steps on how to make brown sugar caramel pound cake:

Preheat oven and generously spray all surfaces of a 12-cup nonstick bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray WITH FLOUR.
Beat the butter until creamy, then add sugars and eggs.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with milk in between each third.
Stir in toffee bits and pecans then spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake until a wood pick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean.

drizzling caramel sauce over a brown sugar pound

Tips for the Best Pound Cake

Use room temperature ingredients. You need room temperature milk and room temperature eggs for this Brown Sugar Cake recipe. Room temperature ingredients mix much easier (so it’s harder to overmix) and result in a softer Bundt cake with maximum volume.
How to bring ingredients to room temperature: If you don’t plan enough ahead, that’s okay! Add warm (not hot) tap water to a bowl then add eggs (still in their shells) for at least 20 minutes. You can microwave your milk until room room temperature (NOT hot).
Don’t over beat: Once you’re done creaming the butter and sugar, you want to beat the batter as little as possible. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each egg. You never want to overbeat eggs as this will cause the batter to be runny and may cause the batter to overflow when baking. Overbeaten eggs can also create a fragile crust that crumbles and separates from the cake as it cools.
Don’t peek! Don’t open the oven doors until it is time to check your Brown Sugar Pound Cake for doneness. Opening the doors can cause your cake to cook unevenly and to fall.
Don’t overbake! One of the main reasons people complain of dry cakes is because they over bake their cake You want to remove your cake when there are just a few crumbs clinging to a toothpick.

a brown sugar pecan pound cake drizzled with caramel sauce sitting on a white plate

How to Prevent Homemade Pound Cake From Sticking to the Pan

The outer layer of your Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake becomes beautifully caramelized as it bakes. While this layer is my favorite part of the cake, it also is the stickiest so you need to make sure you grease your bundt can very well. My favorite way to grease my pan is with a nonstick cooking spray WITH FLOUR IN IT – as simple as a 10 second spray! Alternatively, you can grease and flour your pan.

To grease pan:

First, take care you are using a 12-cup nonstick bundt cake pan.
Use a pastry brush to grease every nook and cranny of the pan thoroughly with softened butter or solid shortening (I prefer butter).
Sprinkle some flour over the butter in the pan.
Hold floured pan over the sink and tilt the pan in a circular motion in order to distribute the flour evenly. Add more flour if there are any bare spots.
Flip the bundt pan over and tap out any excess flour.

How to Remove a Bundt Cake from the Pan

Let Caramel Brown Sugar Pound Cake cool for 15 minutes. This allows the cake to retract from the pan and become firm enough to remove without breaking. If you leave your cake in the pan for too long, however, then it can become damp and stick to the pan.
After 15 minutes, firmly tap the outside of the pan a few times to loosen the cake.
Place a cooling rack over the open side of the bundt cake pan and hold the sides so you are holding both the edges of the bundt cake pan and the cooling rack. Carefully and quickly flip the cooling rack and bundt cake over to invert the cake, then remove the bundt pan.
Let the Brown Sugar Pound Cake Cake cool completely on the wire cooling rack

overhead view of brown sugar caramel pound cake on blue plate

CAN I MAKE Caramel Pound CAKE AHEAD OF TIME?

Absolutely! I actually think this Toffee Pecan Brown Sugar Pound Cake tastes even better the second day.

I would bake the cake but wait to add the caramel to the top of the cake until ready to serve. Once your cake has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature.

You can prepare the caramel in advance as well, refrigerate then microwave (because it will thicken in the fridge) when ready to serve.

What to serve with Caramel Pecan Cake

This pecan caramel pound cake is delicious as is, but you could also serve it with:

Fresh berries: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and/or blackberries
A dollop of whipped cream (and berries!)
Vanilla ice cream (and berries!)
Chocolate ganache

slice of pecan pound cake drizzled with caramel sauce

How to Store Caramel Pound Cake

Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days, noting that it will dry out slightly over time.

CAN I FREEZE BROWN SUGAR POUND CAKE?

Yes! You will want to wait until your Brown Sugar Pound Cake is completely cooled then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap WITHOUT the Caramel. Freeze cake for up to 3 months. Allow you cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

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Total Time: 1 46

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 1 26

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Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (24 TBS) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 8 oz. bag of toffee bits (I use Heath Bits O’ Brickle Toffee Bits)
1 cup pecans, chopped
nonstick cooking spray
1 Recipe Easy Creamy Caramel Sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and generously spray all surfaces of a 12 cup nonstick bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray WITH FLOUR*, OR grease and flour the inside. Set aside.
Beat the butter until creamy then add sugars, beating until fluffy (no less than 3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just the yellow disappears after each egg.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with milk in between each third. Beat until just combined. Stir in toffee bits and pecans then spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake until a wood pick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean, 75 – 90 minutes (wide range due to different pan colors/shapes). You may need to cover the top of the cake with foil near the end of cooking time to prevent excess browning.
Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. Spoon caramel over cake and devour. (Slices are exponentially more delicious if heated in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or heat a plate of slices for 30 seconds.)
IF MAKING AHEAD: I suggest keeping the cake and caramel separate. Reheat the caramel just until warm. Working in batches, add slices of cake to plate and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds then drizzle with caramel.

Notes

For a perfect cake every time, it is important that your nonstick cooking spray contains flour, like this one. *This is not an affiliate link, just important for the recipe!

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Recipe Source: Caramel Cake adapted from The Taste of the South’s Southern Cakes Magazine