Pecan Caramel Mocha Cake with Cherries #SpringSweetsWeek
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Looking for a decadent cake topped with candied pecans, a caramel drizzle, and cherries? My Pecan Caramel Mocha Cake with Cherries is the perfect cake to take with you to parties, holiday dinners, or picnics!
I can’t believe today is the last day of Spring Sweets Week! It’s been such a fun week and there have been some really amazing recipes this week. There are so many I can’t wait to try.
Since I’m the host of the week I wanted to go out with a bang but I also wanted to highlight our wonderful sponsors. I challenged myself to make a delicious cake that used all 7 of our fabulous sponsors and my Pecan Caramel Mocha Cake with Cherries is the one that I ended up making.
To start with this cake is baked in an Anolon 9 x 13 cake pan with silicone grips on the sides to make for easy removal of the pan from the oven. I usually just use a tablespoon to mix my cake batters but this time I used a large mixing spoon from Deiss Kitchenware and you know what? It made it so much easier to mix the batter!
Now let’s talk about this cake. When I went to gather my ingredients I realized I was out of cocoa powder. I’m never out of cocoa powder. I ran to my downstairs pantry to look for it and started moving things all around but couldn’t find any. At one point my hand was on a large container and I was freaking out. Then I realized the large container in my hand was black cocoa powder and a ton of it. I knew it would add a deep, powerful cocoa flavor but I thought my cake was up to it because of the other flavors in it.
I made one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes but I substituted 1 cup of strong brewed Door County Coffee Highlander Grogg. This is one of my favorite flavored coffees that they have. It’s a blend of caramel and Irish Creme flavor and it works so well with chocolate. I knew it would really add a punch of flavor to my cake.
Once my cake was in the oven I worked on the frosting. I wanted to make a caramel frosting so I used a big bag of Dixie Crystals powdered sugar and added some butter, caramel sauce, Adams Extract Vanilla, and more of the strong brewed Highlander Grogg. It made for this creamy caramel vanilla frosting which worked so well with the dark chocolate cake.
Because I couldn’t just stop there I finished the cake off with a few toppings. The first was as sprinkle of Millican Pecan Sweet and Spicy Pecan Pieces to give the cake a bit of crunch with a hint of spiciness. I can eat these by the handful. Then I grabbed a package of Fresh April Sprinkles to make the cake sparkle. I used The Final Rose which has pinks, corals, white, and gold sprinkles. It’s so blingy!
The last thing I did was take a good cherry pie filling and drain it. I used the cherries from that and decorated the top of the cake. Then I drizzled caramel sauce over the top! I know this sounds like a lot of work but actually it was a pretty easy cake to make but it looks like it took forever to make!
I ended up taking this cake to school and my coworkers really enjoyed it. My husband and I both really liked it too. While the cake had a deep cocoa flavor you could also taste the caramel and Irish Creme. The frosting was light and fluffy and full of caramel and vanilla. The toppings of crunchy pecans, sprinkles, and cherries really just took this cake to another level.
Since this cake is baked in a 9 x 13 pan it’s super easy to cover it with foil and take it with you anywhere. So the next time you are asked to make a dessert for a party think about making this beauty!
Pro Tips & Substitutions:
- You can certainly switch up the flavor of coffee in this one. I would stick with a flavor that has either caramel or vanilla in it but there are so many combinations out there.
- Freeze this cake for about 15 minutes after it has cooled to make putting the frosting on it much easier.
- Fresh cherries can be used on top but make sure to pit them first!
- If you are serving this cake for a special occasion you can dye the frosting or change up the sprinkles to match the colors of the occasion. It’s an easy switch but can be a big wow factor.
Pecan Caramel Mocha Cake with Cherries
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 c. butter softened
- 1 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 T. vanilla
- 1 c. strong brewed caramel or vanilla coffee
- 1/2 c. cocoa powder I used black cocoa powder
- 3 c. flour
- 2 t. baking powder
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1 t. salt
For the frosting:
- 1 1/2 c. butter
- 2 T. caramel sauce
- 6 c. powdered sugar
- 3 T. strong brewed caramel or vanilla coffee cooled
- 1 T. vanilla
For decorating:
- 1/3 c. sweet and spicy pecan pieces
- Sprinkles
- 3 T. caramel sauce
- cherry pie filling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
- In a small bowl combine the hot coffee and the cocoa powder and mix until combined.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Slowly add in the coffee and cocoa mixture and mix until well combined.
- Stir in the remaining flour mixture and mix until combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool cake completely on a wire rack.
- To make the frosting put the butter, caramel sauce, coffee, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Spread the frosting on top of the cake and smooth.
- Sprinkle the cake with the pecans and sprinkles.
- Drain the cherry pie filling and place the cherries on top of the cake. Drizzle with caramel sauce.
- Cut the cake into squares and serve.
Notes
Sunday #SpringSweetsWeek Recipes
- Coconut Pecan Dream Bars by Shockingly Delicious
- Coffee Cinnamon Scones by Jen Around the World
- Eton Mess Bar by Art of Natural Living
- Gluten Free Apple Pie Pancakes by Frugal & Fit
- Pecan Caramel Mocha Cake with Cherries by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- PEEPS Crispy Treats by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Spring Petit Fours by Family Around the Table
Your cake looks so rich and delicious! And those cherries are top. Yum!
This seriously has all of my favorite dessert items! The Mocha! The pecans! The cherries! Yummmmm!
I can’t wait for picnic season now! What a fun dessert!