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Southern Butter Pecan Praline Poke Cake

An easy and delicious dessert combining moist cake, rich pecan praline sauce, and whipped cream—a sweet escape for any occasion.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American, Southern
Calories: 300
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Cake
  • 1 box yellow cake mix Ingredients needed as per box (usually water, oil, and eggs)
For the Praline Sauce
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup chopped pecans (toasted is best)
For Topping
  • whipped cream (store-bought or homemade)
  • extra toasted pecans for garnish

Method
 

Baking the Cake
  1. Preheat your oven according to the box instructions. Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish (grease it well if not using non-stick). Mix the cake batter as directed on the box. Bake until a toothpick comes clean—this usually takes about 25-30 minutes. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.
Poking the Cake
  1. Once out of the oven, grab a fork and poke holes all over the top of the cake. Make those holes nice and big to ensure the sauce seeps down into the cake!
Making the Praline Sauce
  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add in the brown sugar and heavy cream, stirring until everything combines and begins to bubble. Lower the heat and let it simmer for about 3-5 minutes until it thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped pecans.
Soaking the Cake
  1. Pour the pecan praline sauce all over your poked cake—let it soak in!
Chilling the Cake
  1. Cover your cake and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight if you can resist!).
Topping & Serving
  1. Before serving, slather on a generous layer of whipped cream and sprinkle more toasted pecans on top.

Notes

To toast raw pecans, use a dry skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes. For quick whipped cream, use a can or whip heavy cream with sugar at home.