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    Home » Recipes » Dessert » Cakes

    Apple Pecan Pound Cake

    Published by Melissa on October 15, 2018 | Updated June 10, 2022 | 31 Comments

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    This Apple Pecan Pound Cake is loaded with apples, pecans and coconut. It’s moist and tender and full of flavor. A perfect cake for fall.

    Apple Pecan Pound Cake loaded with apples, pecans and coconut. A perfect cake for fall.

    I’ve been saving this recipe for several months, so I could share it during apple season. Jean, a Barbara Bakes reader, emailed me this family favorite recipe in May. She said “Barbara, I have a wonderful cake recipe that I believe would be a BIG hit.  It is a winner.  I would like for you to try it and if you agree, post it.  It seems extra heavy with a lot of additions but I promise it will be wonderful.”

    Jean’s good friend, Judith, gave her this recipe in 1966. “This is truly one of the best cake recipes that I have.  Moist and full of flavor.  It was my idea to use the Brandy flavoring and it really adds a special touch to this exceptional cake.” 

    collage of making Apple Pecan Pound Cake

    Making An Apple Pecan Pound Cake

    After an introduction like that, how could I not give it a try. I picked up some Honeycrisp apples that that were on sale, as well as a Granny Smith apple to use in the recipe. I like using a blend of apples for best results.

    Toasting nuts before you use them helps to crisp them up and intensifies the flavor of the nuts. Spread them out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake them for about 5 minutes in a 350º oven; then put them on a plate to cool before chopping and adding them to your batter.

    I mixed the chopped pecans with the coconut before adding it to the batter so that there wouldn’t be clumps of coconut, and it would blend into the batter easier.

    Baked Apple Pecan Pound Cake in 12 cup tube pan

    The recipe calls for a 10 cup tube pan. I used my 12 cup tube pan and it was just right. I use this pan quite a bit for coffee cakes.

    Since I live at 5,000 feet, I made high altitude changes using this King Arthur Flour high altitude baking guide. My high altitude changes are listed at the bottom of the recipe.

    Apple Pecan Pound Cake ready for slicing

    I’m not a big fan of walnuts, so I switched the walnuts for pecans. If you love walnuts, give it a try with walnuts, or Jean even suggests using black walnuts.

    It has a long cook time because of the high moisture content. So the outside of the cake is sweet and the top gets a little crumbly even though it doesn’t have a crumb topping.

    This Apple Pecan Pound Cake is loaded with apples, pecans and coconut. It's moist and tender and full of flavor. A perfect cake for fall.

    I debated whether or not to add a glaze to the cake to dress it up for the pictures. In the end, I’m glad I didn’t because the cake is perfect just the way it is.

    Jean was right, this is a fabulous fall cake. Thanks for sending me the recipe Jean. I hope you’ll give it a try too.

    Apple Pecan Pound Cake loaded with apples, pecans and coconut. A perfect cake for fall.
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    4.43 from 40 votes

    Apple Pecan Pound Cake

    Course: Dessert
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Ingredients

    • 3 cups all purpose flour*
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 cups sugar*
    • 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
    • 3 large eggs room temperature*
    • 2 teaspoons Brandy flavoring or vanilla extract
    • 3 cups peeled cored, diced apples (about 3 large apples)
    • 1 cup pecans or walnuts toasted and chopped
    • 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

    Instructions

    • 1.    Preheat oven to 325º F. Grease and flour a 10 cup tube pan. (I used cooking spray with flour.)
    • 2.    Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside
    • 3.    In a large mixing bowl combine oil, sugar, eggs, and Brandy flavoring (or vanilla if using). Mix at medium speed until well blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture. On low speed mix in apples, coconut, and nuts. 
    • 4.    Spoon batter into prepared pan.
    • 5.    Bake for 80 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. DO NOT OPEN OVEN DURING BAKING. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Invert onto rack to cool completely.

    Notes

    High altitude adjustments I used: Add an additional 2 tablespoons flour, 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons sugar, 4 eggs, increase the oven temperature to 350º, and 75 minute bake time.
    More apple recipes you might like:

    Apple Pecan Banana Mini Muffins, Barbara Bakes
    Dutch Caramel Apple Pie Bites, Barbara Bakes
    Apple Crisp Sweet Roll Coffee Cakes, Barbara Bakes
    20 Apple Recipes for Fall, Wine and Glue
    Caramel Apple Bars, Inside BruCrew Life

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    Apple Pecan Pound Cake from BarbaraBakes.com

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    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Wallace L Noble

      January 12, 2022 at 12:46 pm

      I have had the delightful privilege to bake this pound cake three times. It tastes and looks better each time. I did three eggs this time instead of two. And each time I baked the cake, it needed an additional 7-10 minute baking time. I did not have any brandy this time but used my “RUM EMULSION.”
      It is a favorite among my seniors at the church and in our household.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        January 12, 2022 at 12:50 pm

        Thanks for sharing your changes Wallace – I’m glad it’s a big hit!

        Reply
    2. chris

      March 15, 2021 at 7:14 am

      omg, here’s a lighter version : I reduced the following : flour (2cups), sugar (1 cup) and fat (125gr butter only) added half and half for the batter to be workable and used a large round baking pan of height 5cm, diam 26cm, thus reduced cooking time to only 40 minutes which resulted in a moist light vanilla coconutty cake ! Thanks for the recipe basis, we don’t get pecan christmas cakes here in France, thet’a nice substitute (my favorite being the collin street bakery cakes in Texas of course !)

      Reply
    3. Zinnie Martini

      October 27, 2020 at 2:02 pm

      would you add nutmeg or cinnamon….

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        October 27, 2020 at 2:08 pm

        Hi Zinnie – I don’t think it needs it, but you certainly could add both if you prefer. Perhaps 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

        Reply
    4. farrah d

      May 14, 2020 at 1:46 pm

      can  i substute the oil  if so what what? the oil gives  the cake a smell.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        May 14, 2020 at 6:30 pm

        I haven’t tried it, but generally, you can substitute butter or coconut oil for vegetable oil in cake.

        Reply
      • Debbie D

        November 23, 2020 at 2:25 am

        I’ve frequently used applesauce

        Reply
        • Barbara Schieving

          November 23, 2020 at 3:36 am

          Thanks Debbie!

          Reply
    5. Jane Kovacs

      September 27, 2019 at 10:57 am

      I made this cake earlier this morning, put it in the oven at 325° for 80 minutes. Still not done, additional 10 minutes, still not done. Now in for 15 minutes more with foil on too do it won’t burn. Hope this works.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        September 28, 2019 at 1:53 pm

        Hi Jane – what pan are you cooking it in?

        Reply
    6. S

      April 09, 2019 at 1:53 pm

      can i use cake flour? softsilk

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        April 10, 2019 at 1:08 pm

        I haven’t tried it with cake flour, but I assume it would work well.

        Reply
    7. Kay

      December 04, 2018 at 7:01 pm

      I made this cake for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful! I’d like to make smaller ones for Christmas gifts at work. Would it work well in loaf pans or for cupcakes? How long would you bake it? Thanks so much!

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 04, 2018 at 7:16 pm

        Thanks Kay! I think the mini loaves would be awesome as Christmas gifts. I would try a similar time to this recipe https://www.barbarabakes.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bread/ 35 minutes for the mini loaves.

        Reply
        • Kay

          December 05, 2018 at 7:08 am

          Thanks so much!!

          Reply
    8. Danijela

      November 11, 2018 at 7:32 am

      Beautiful!!!

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        November 11, 2018 at 7:33 am

        Thanks!

        Reply
    9. Cathy Pollak

      November 05, 2018 at 7:24 am

      This is the perfect cake for fall!

      Reply
    10. Toni | Boulder Locavore

      November 03, 2018 at 4:07 am

      This was so good! My family loved it!

      Reply
    11. Jennifer Farley

      November 02, 2018 at 11:05 am

      What a lovely flavor for pound cake! I’m a big fan.

      Reply
    12. Aysegul

      November 02, 2018 at 10:37 am

      This cake is looking amazing and it’s my favorite for this winter days. Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
    13. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

      October 25, 2018 at 7:55 pm

      Ooh this sounds so wholesome and delicious and i love it when a cake has lots of bits in it! 😀 xxx

      Reply
    14. J

      October 15, 2018 at 5:06 pm

      I love the reader’s recipes cuz their family favs! Thanks for sharing Barb!
      If someone didn’t want coconut in their cake, there’s always choc chips or caramel chips, wte etc.
      I hope your having a great week! 

      Reply
    15. Linda Gardepe

      October 15, 2018 at 1:26 pm

      Barbara, What kind of apples would be best to use in this cake? It sounds and looks delicious!

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        October 15, 2018 at 8:01 pm

        Hi Linda – I used a combo of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith.

        Reply
    16. Karen

      October 15, 2018 at 8:27 am

      This cake looks delicious, however we have a coconut allergy in our family, so that removes all recipes with that ingredient. Is there something I could substitute for the coconut? I really want to try this.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        October 15, 2018 at 8:29 am

        Thanks Karen – I would just increase the nuts and leave out the coconut. Enjoy!

        Reply
      • Carmela Lozano

        December 13, 2020 at 9:58 pm

        Hi…Ive made this cake plenty of times. Recipe handed down to me from my mom. Ive started useing can apples instead! I find the cake much more moist! ❤

        Reply
        • Barbara Schieving

          December 14, 2020 at 5:26 am

          Thanks for sharing Carmela – it would be a time saver as well.

          Reply
    17. Carol

      October 15, 2018 at 7:47 am

      What a perfect fall cake-and look at all the goodies packed inside. I have a pan that looks a lot like the one you used-I’ll have to measure it but I’m pretty sure it’s 12 cups. I’ve never used it- your photos of your coffee cakes make me wonder WHY I haven’t yet? I bet the brandy extract added a wonderful warm touch to the cake too. The orchards are loaded with apples-time for some fun fall baking! Thanks to you and Jean for sharing the recipe.

      Reply

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