I have such great admiration for people who bake elaborately decorated cakes with beautiful flowers and other frosting and fondant decorations! There are so many talented bakers and bloggers creating gorgeous desserts, and I always say that ‘someday’ I’ll take a cake decorating class to learn how to do it myself!
But – I know myself – and I really don’t have the patience (nor the artistic talent) to create such masterpieces! So that’s why simple and delicious dessert recipes like this Toffee Pecan Bundt Cake with Caramel Drizzle are more my speed!
This easy cake delivers on so many levels! A moist, sweet brown sugar cake is full of milk chocolate toffee bits and chopped pecans. Then – the cake is covered in a rich, sweet caramel drizzle that is sugary perfection!
As you can see here, this recipe makes a generous amount of that wonderful caramel that oozes down as you cut into the cake…
OMG this cake is fantastic! My husband Jack said this is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made!
And, while this toffee pecan bundt cake with caramel drizzle may not have gorgeous, colorful frosting flowers – this cake is so delicious, you and your guests won’t miss them one bit!
Recipe adapted from Lady Behind the Curtain
Print
Toffee Pecan Bundt Cake with Caramel Drizzle
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 75 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 servings
Ingredients
For the Cake
- Non-stick cooking spray with flour
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 bag (8-ounces) milk chocolate toffee pieces
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
For the Caramel Drizzle
- 14 ounces (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray with flour and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and creamy. Add both sugars and beat again until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until blended. Alternate adding in flour mixture and milk, mixing until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
- Stir in toffee chips and pecans by hand, blending well. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 75-80 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cake is cool, prepare the Caramel Drizzle as follows:
- Combine the sweetened condensed milk and brown sugar in a medium, heavy–bottomed saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, whisking very frequently.
- Reduce the heat under the pan and simmer gently for about 8 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Allow the mixture to sit in the pan for about 5 minutes – then drizzle over the cake. (You will want the drizzle to still be fairly hot when you drizzle it over the cake – it does harden a little after it cools.)
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
You may also like:
Spiced Egg Nog Chocolate Chip Cake
Toffee Pecan Bundt Cake – I made this about 5 years ago and I had a big mess in the oven where it went over the top of the pan. My bundt cake pan is a Nordic Ware Anniversary edition which is 12 cups. I made not substitutions; however, I live at 8000 ft. in Colorado, so was wondering if this was part of the problem. I saw another post on a website where another person had a similar problem, but did not state her elevation. Do you have any recommendations or conversions?
Than you Lana
Hi Lana – I’m afraid we don’t have any experience in high altitude baking (we live close to sea level ourselves). You might find this article helpful: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Hi I Just Made This Delish Brownies Sugar Bunt Cake.oh My It Smelled So Wonderful But I Checked It After 80 Minutes.Wasnt Done.so I Kept Checking on It But Had To Cook It For A Total Of 2 Hours And 40 Minutes.It Still Didn’t Seem Done But Took It Let It Cool When I Started To Turn. It Up and Dump It Into A Plate Well It Fell out of the Bunt Pan Still Wasn’t DONE THEN UT CAME OUT All Over The Counter!! What Could Have DONE To Screw It Up So Bad ?? I Evern Checked The receipt 3 Times To Make Sure Everything Was Correct.Im SO Upset I Wanted To Make it For A Friend.. Help!!🤔
I’m not sure Charlotte…without being there in the kitchen with you, it’s always hard to tell what went wrong. If you’ve already confirmed that you measured all of the ingredients correctly, I’d double check that your oven is working correctly. (After baking for more than 2 1/2 hours – it sounds like the baking temp might have been off?) I’m sorry you had a problem with the recipe!
Extremely sweet and heavy. Would not make again.
★★
Thanks for your feedback Wendy – sorry you were disappointed
A big hit!
★★★★★
Thanks Marilyn!
Does this have to be refrigerated?
Hi DeAnn – It would probably be OK for a day or two at room temperature well covered. We do refrigerate it ourselves.
I made this cake tonight after dinner. It is a DEFINITE keeper! DELICIOUS! 😍😍😍
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed the cake Shirlie!
This cake is absolutely amazing !!! I made it for my future mother in laws birthday and the flavor and texture turned out perfectly !! I did however use a bakers cooking spray and my cake still stuck a little to the pan. ….. buying a new pan just so I can make it again and get it perfect . As for the cake not getting done, check your oven temps. Seriously none of my baked good were turning out right , I checked the temps and it was 50 degrees off, to high. If oven temp is not correct , it will not bake correctly !! Thanks for the recipe and I hope you have a merry Christmas!!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Jennifer and thank you for the oven advice too! Merry Christmas to you too!
Made this for a party and it was a hit.
★★★★★
Thanks John! Glad you enjoyed the cake recipe!
Thank you Martha. Do you think these would work? Sprinkle and co chocolate covered toffee pieces (sorry wouldn’t let me include link)
Many thanks
Hi Kate – I think so! As mentioned before, it will introduce some chocolate into the cake, but that’s not a bad thing in my opinion! 🙂
Hi – this looks delicious! I am planning to make it as a Christmas Eve dessert in a fancy bunds pan . Couple of questions – any idea of a British alternative to Heath toffee bits and if serving as a dessert, do you serve it warm or cold and does it need cream or anything to accompany? Many thanks.Kate x
Hi Kate – I just did a quick search of Amazon UK and see that there are some bags sold of toffee crumble – that would probably be the closest to the Heath toffee bits. Alternately, I’m wondering if you might have Skor candy bars in the UK? Those are similar to Heath Bars, and chopping them up into small pieces would also work. (The Skor bars would introduce a little bit of chocolate to the recipe – but that would be delicious too!). The cake can be served at room temperature and it’s probably enough to serve as is – but you could add whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if you’d like! Merry Christmas!
Is there need for adjustments for high altitude ( 4600 ft)??
Hi Susan – I’m afraid neither Jack nor I are high altitude baking experts (and our own home is quite close to sea level so we don’t have personal experience making this recipe at higher altitudes). I would imagine you will want to make some adjustments. Perhaps this link from the King Arthur website would be helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Made this in my Lodge cast iron bundt pan. Turned out delicious. Super easy recipe and looks beautiful
Thanks Melinda!
I have made this cake twice now and have to say it is the best cake I’ve ever made. I am a baker and always trying new recipes but this one is at the top of the scrumptious list.
★★★★★
Wow Cheryl – Thank you for such a high complement! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This looks wonderful. I have one question… can you make the Caramel Drizzle and drizzle it on the cake ahead of time?
Hi Ginnybug – My apologies for the delay in responding. Yes – you can glaze the cake ahead of time. (Hope you love the recipe!)
Anyone ever have problems with the toffee bits sinking to the bottom of the cake while baking?
Hi Quen – We haven’t had this happen to us when we make this cake (it’s a thick batter), but if you are worried about it happening, you could try tossing the toffee bits in a bit of flour before stirring it in.
This cake is on the oven right now. It has been in the oven for much longer than 80 minutes ( 18 minutes more thus far) and it’s still not done. I hope it comes out ok because it smells delicious!
Fingers crossed for you too Lianne!
I live at high altitudes. What adjustments should I make to this recipe?
Hi Elizabeth – I have to admit that neither Jack nor I are experts at high altitude baking and recipe adjustments – so I’d like to refer you to this link: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Looks like there are several adjustments to make depending on your specific altitude – hope this helps!
Hi, I made your cake and I used Mackintosh toffee, which I cut up into pieces but I had trouble getting the cake out of the pan as the toffee melted and stuck. It tasted delicious and I’m upset that it stuck! Which kind of toffee do you recommend using for this recipe?
Hi Sophie! I’m sorry your cake stuck to the pan! We used the Heath toffee bits (you can use either version – with or without the milk chocolate on it). We buy the bag at our local supermarket in the baking aisle. Hope that helps!
This looks fantastic! I’m going to make it for a girls lunch with my sisters. I’ll make the sauce and reheat it in the microwave. I’m also going to make it into Mini Bunt cakes. I’m going to investigate what the difference in cooking time is and let you know! This cake ought to wow them!
Thanks Pat! We hope you all love the cake – and yes, please let us know how the recipe adapts to the smaller pans. (Always appreciate hearing how different cooking or baking methods work out!)
This cake looks amazing. I was wondering if this could be made in round cake pans. Thank you
Hi Diana – I’ve never tried baking this as a layer cake but I think it might work! Please let us know how it comes out!
Hi,
I have a question for you. I am going to make this cake and take it to a friends house, and was wondering if I could make the icing ahead of time and then warm up before pouring it over cake. You mentioned that the icing gets hard after it cools, and I was just wondering if it would be ok after I warmed it.
Thank you, cake looks delicious!
Hi Laura – I think reheating the icing should work fine. We hope you enjoy the cake as much as we do!
Hi, I have this cake in the oven right now, thank you for a great recipe. My question is can the cake and caramel drizzle be made earlier than needed and frozen? Thank you in advance
Hi Alison – I’m sorry for the delay in responding. I think you could probably bake the cake in advance, but I’d add the drizzle just before serving. Hope that helps!
Just made toffee pecan bundt cake. So easy and turned out perfect! Thank you for this tasty treat!
You’re very welcome – so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
My niece made this cake for our thanksgiving dessert today. I thought I died and went to heaven. It was one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten. It will forever be one of my favorites. It was a hugh hit with the family. Thank you.
You’re very welcome Debbie…So very glad you enjoyed the cake! Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for taking the time to write to us today!
Looks good, but i would like the glaze a little thicker…
Feel free to add some powdered/confectioner’s sugar to thicken the glaze if you’d like and reduce some of the sweetened condensed milk.
My cake is in the oven. My husband loves toffee and it’s his birthday! I can’t wait to taste!
Hope you love the cake Tina!
This is in my oven right now! The whole house smells wonderful. Can’t wait to put my fork in it along with a cold glass of milk!
Hope you love the cake Kathryn!
I am dying to make this cake for my mom! Would baking time or anything else change if I were to add apples?
Thanks, Tesia
I’m sure it would Tesia – the cake will be definitely be more dense with apples added and the baking time will be longer. As an alternative, you could try this Best Apple Cake Ever recipe instead – swapping in pecans? https://www.afamilyfeast.com/best-apple-cake-ever/ (You could do the caramel drizzle from the Toffee Pecan Bundt recipe.) Hope that helps!
My name is Yolandes i love making the bundt drizzale carmel toffee peacan pound cake my husband and family love this cake i never bake a home made cake but i love too bake now please send more baking receipt too me thank you very much
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Yolandes! You can search our recipe index here for more recipes: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/alphabetical-list/
Or – you can subscribe to our email list where we will share a link to every new recipe we post: http://afamilyfeast.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9a2c6760f23290d6d18135388&id=962c824346
I made this on Thanksgiving…everyone’s favorite thing! Easy to make.
Thank you for sharing. All the best.
So glad you enjoyed cake Robin!
Did you sift the flour before measuring out the 3 cups?
Hi Chantae – No – I did not sift before measuring. What I typically do is use a spoon to stir the flour in the canister, then use the spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup. (Doing it this way prevents the flour from being too packed down.) Then I use a knife to even off the top of the measuring cup. Hope that helps!
I’m excited to try this recipe- my teenager and husband LOVE toffee and caramel! However, I’d like to try putting it into cupcake form(s) so they can take them with them to work/school. Do you have any idea what kind of time these would need to bake? I’m guessing I’m just going to wing it and see how it goes. My hope is to scoop out a small hole in the middle of the cupcakes for the caramel topping. Theoretically, it should absorb into the cake some, so it won’t make a big mess when they take them out to eat at lunch. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated!
Thanks!
Hi Sterling – I haven’t made these as cupcakes so I’d only be guessing but you might be able to find some sort of online baking conversion chart? Let us know how it comes out!
what are toffee pieces?
Hi Diana – You can find them in the baking aisle – sometimes called Heath Toffee Bits (or you can take a Heath candy bar and break it up into pieces). Hope that helps!
This cake is awesome we had to use chocolate toffee but oh so yummy getting ready to make again as a birthday cake
Thanks Chris! We’re glad you’re enjoying the recipe as much as we do! (And substituting the chocolate toffee sounds delicious!)
I’ve made this cake three times now & it’s wonderful! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re very welcome Lisa! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi, I love your blog and cakes…. I’d like to make the toffee one, one quick question, can cake flour be substituted for APF?? Not just for this cake but for any of your recipes??
Thank You
Hi Stella – Thank you so much! I haven’t tried swapping cake flour for AP flour in our recipes – but here is a link to a Wilton forum that discusses the topic which might be helpful to you! http://www.wilton.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=168315 If you try it, please let us know how it comes out!
I love this cake and have made it three times but have had trouble getting this cake to get done even extending time by 10-15 minutes (100-110 minutes). Should I up the temp to 350 degrees? Anything else I could be doing wrong?
Hi Joan – You could try raising the temp – but if it is done after the extra 10+ minutes, I’d probably just do that! Glad you like the cake!
So ive made this recipe TWICE and its a family favorite!!!! I couldnt believe how delicious the batter is 🙂 one of the best cakes ive ever eaten!!!
So glad you like the recipe Sheanna – Happy Thanksgiving!
oh my .. why have I never seen your blog before?! I just spotted this fabby looking bundt cake on pinterest, on a food-e-licious page.. i’m sure you will get lots of hits from that link .. you have a new follower, i’m sold 😉
Thank you so much Lesley! We’re glad you found us!!
This bundt cake looks just too tempting 🙂 Must try recipe 🙂 Thanks for sharing
Thanks Medeja!