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Maple Pecan Layer Cake (Doctored Cake Mix)

Last Updated On: October 01, 2023 | Published: September 30, 2022 by Melissa Diamond | 6 Comments
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This Maple Pecan Cake is a moist, delicious doctored cake mix recipe that is bursting with maple and pecan flavor. Keep this easy, flavorful cake recipe in mind for your fall celebrations!

Maple Pecan Layer Cake

Why we Love It

There are so many reasons to love this easy Maple Pecan Cake!

Super easy, moist, and delicious

It makes the perfect fall cake recipe!

Maple and pecan is one of our favorite combinations. Make sure to check out our scratch Maple Pecan Cake with Maple Buttercream and Maple Carrot Cake recipes as well.

We also have a delicious Maple Pound Cake with caramel glaze!

The Maple Pecan Cake Layers are glazed with maple syrup and frosted in a heavenly maple cream cheese frosting. You will love this recipe!

Maple Pecan Layer Cake Slice

How to Make Maple Pecan Layer Cake

You can find our full, printable Maple Pecan Layer Cake recipe further down in this post. Here is a quick rundown of our steps!

  1. Preheat: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Prepare the Pans: Grease and flour three 8x2 round cake pans. (We like to line the bottom of our pans with parchment as well.)
  3. Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of your mixer, combine dry ingredients: cake mix, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Whisk for 30 seconds to blend.
  4. Wet Ingredients: In another bowl, combine sour cream, water, eggs, canola oil, vanilla extract, maple extract, & maple syrup.
  5. Time to Mix: Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stop after 1 minute to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl then continue to beat for the second minute.
  6. Pecans: Stir in the chopped pecans.
Maple Pecan Cake Mix Recipe
  1. Fill the Pans: Pour the maple pecan cake batter into prepared pans and bake at 325 degrees. Check after 22 minutes- and adjust time as needed. Baking times may vary. The cake layers are done if middle of cake springs back when lightly touched, or a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
Maple Pecan Layer Cake- Batter in Cake Pans
  1. Allow the freshly baked cake layers to cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack before turning out.
Maple Pecan Layer Cake- Baked Layers

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

This maple cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement to our maple-glazed cake layers!

The recipe is based on our classic cream cheese frosting recipe, with the addition of maple extract and maple syrup. This delicious recipe goes perfectly with our maple layers!

Because of its softer consistency, you may need to pop it in the refrigerator to firm it up as needed when decorating the cake.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Maple Syrup Glaze

While our Maple Pecan Cake Layers are delicious as they are, brushing the tops with maple syrup really adds a wonderful boost of maple flavor to this recipe!

Assembling the Maple Pecan Layer Cake

Place the first maple pecan cake layer on the cake base or pedestal.

Next, brush the top with maple syrup. We used a silicone pastry brush for this. We brushed a light coating over the top of the cake layer.

Maple Pecan Cake Mix Recipe- Brushing Cake Layers with Maple Syrup

Then, we spread the cake layer with a layer of maple cream cheese frosting.

Repeat these steps for the second cake layer, then top with the third cake layer.

Maple Pecan Layer Cake

Maple Pecan Layer Cake Mix Recipe

We brushed the top layer with maple syrup once again frosted the cake with a thin layer of maple cream cheese frosting. (This is the crumb coat).

At this point, I like to chill the crumb coated cake in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes to firm things up. Follow with the final layer of frosting.

Maple Pecan Layer Cake-Frosting the Cake

Decorating the Maple Pecan Cake

Decorate the cake however you like! Today, I added texture around the sides of the cake, creating vertical patterns in the frosting using a cake comb.

I textured the top with my offset spatula, and then added a reverse shell border to the top of the cake, and a shell border around the base (using a 1M piping tip).

Maple Pecan Cake- Doctored Cake Mix Recipe

If you're interested in learning about star tip borders like these, make sure to check out our Piping Basics with a Star Tip video!

Maple Pecan Layer Cake

Recipe FAQs

Yes, just as with the majority of our cakes (including caramel cake, marble cake, almond cake, and more), these cake layers freeze beautifully. 

First, allow the layers to cool to room temperature (or slightly warm). Then, place each cake layer on a foil-wrapped cake cardboard. Wrap with plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. Place in the freezer for up to three months!

To thaw, place the cake layers on the kitchen counter for 30-45 minutes before unwrapping. Thaw to desired amount for cake assembly.

(Some people prefer to assemble their cakes when still partially frozen as they are less fragile.)

Yes, because of the cream cheese frosting, this cake should be refrigerated. However, for the best flavor and texture, the cake should be removed from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before serving.

If you are looking for a frosting that can safely sit out for longer, we have a delicious Maple Buttercream Frosting as well! You can find this recipe in our Scratch Maple Cake Recipe post.

As with most cream cheese frostings, this maple cream cheese frosting is a softer consistency than most buttercream recipes.

Because of this, we like to chill the frosting for several minutes before working with it.

As you are decorating with it, if the frosting becomes too soft to hold it's shape or to easily work with, simply pop the bowl of frosting, piping bag, or even the cake in the freezer or refrigerator for several minutes to firm things back up again.

Other Favorite Cakes with Pecans

We've included pecans in many of our favorite cake recipes over the years! In addition to today's easy Maple Pecan Cake, we have many more to share with you!

Some of our most popular are our homemade Carrot Cake, Italian Cream Cake, Butter Pecan Layer Cake, and German Chocolate Cake Recipes!

Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!

Maple Pecan Layer Cake (Doctored Cake Mix)

BY Melissa and Bebe
Nobody would guess that this flavorful Maple Pecan Layer Cake starts with a simple cake mix! We love this delicious cake for fall and winter celebrations!
Course: Dessert
Servings: 15
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Ingredients

  • 1 box yellow cake mix sifted ( Do not follow directions on the box, use only the ingredients listed below. We used Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Classic Yellow cake mix)
  • 1 cup cake flour (121g)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar (200g)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (3g)
  • 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (greek yogurt is fine also) (242g)
  • ¼ Cup Vegetable Oil (We use Canola Oil) (54g)
  • 1 cup water (240g)
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
  • 3 teaspoons maple extract (12g)
  • 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup (13g) We will also use additional syrup for the glaze.
  • ¾ Cup Chopped Pecans (Adjust to your liking) (78g)

For the Maple Glaze

  • We used pure Maple Syrup as a glaze for our cake layers - You won't need much- maybe ¼ cup or so Applied with a silicone pastry brush

For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (226g)
  • 16 oz packages cream cheese, softened (453g total)
  • 1 Tablespoon maple syrup optional
  • 2 teaspoons maple extract (8g)
  • 6 to 6 ½ cups powdered sugar, adding more if necessary (690g to 747g)
  • **If you like to do a lot of decorative piping increase this recipe by half (or more).

Instructions

For the Maple Pecan Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  • Grease and flour three 8x2 round cake pans.
  • In the bowl of your mixer, combine dry ingredients: cake mix, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Whisk for 30 seconds to blend.
  • In another bowl, combine sour cream, water, eggs, canola oil, vanilla extract, maple extract, & maple syrup.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stop after 1 minute to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl then continue to beat for the second minute.
  • Stir in the chopped pecans.
  • Pour into prepared pans and bake at 325 degrees....check after 22 minutes- Cakes are done if middle of cake springs back when touched, a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
  • Makes about 7 cups of batter.

For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Cut the butter into ½ inch slices and add to the bowl of your mixer, mix on medium speed until smooth
  • Cut the cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, mixing on medium speed until well blended.
  • Add the maple syrup and maple extract
  • Gradually add powdered sugar and mix until well blended. Do not over mix or beat above medium speed . If beaten too long it will become very soft. If this happens, just put in the refrigerator for a short while to firm it up a bit, then frost the cake.
  • This frosting will pipe best if used while chilled. You can make in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly and remix.

Assembly of the Cake

  • Place the first maple pecan cake layer on cake base or pedestal. Brush the top with maple syrup. We used a silicone pastry brush for this.
  • Then, spread with a layer of maple cream cheese frosting. Repeat for the next two cake layers. Brush the top layer with maple glaze and then frost the cake with a thin layer of frosting. (This is the crumb coat).
  • At this point, I like to chill the cake for about 15-20 minutes in the freezer (or longer in the refrigerator) to firm everything up. You can also chill your bowl of frosting during this time if you need to.
  • Then, follow with the next (final) layer of frosting. I decorated my cake very simply, using a comb to make vertical strokes around the sides of the cake.
  • I topped with a reverse shell border using a large star (1M) piping tip, and a shell border around the bottom. I also made a swirly pattern on top of the cake with my small offset spatula.
  • *Because of the cream cheese frosting, this cake should be refrigerated. It is best to remove from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before serving for best flavor and texture.
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6 Comments

  4. hi. I'll be trying this cake but had a couple of questions
    1. I freeze my layers after they are baked, would I apply the maple glarze prior to freezing or once thawed? 2. do you toast the pecans yiu use for the cake? 3.is there a particular brand of maple syrup you use-they are all not the same :) 4. last one..with the maple extract/syrup is the cake quite sweet? thank you!!

    Reply

    1. Hi Jennifer, I haven't experimented with freezing the glazed cake- I would glaze the layers after thawing them to be on the safe side.

      No, there is no need to toast the pecans- you can do that if you would like to but we did not.

      I like pure maple syrup- I just checked, mine says amber color on the label. Go with what you like! ;0) -

      This is a really good cake and while it is sweet, it is not overly sweet- we really enjoyed this recipe. Its a great one for fall! ;0)

      Reply