Maple Frosting Recipe with Pecans from The Food Charlatan (2024)

This all-butter Maple Frosting with pecans is great for any fall cake or cupcake. Maple makes for a very sweet buttercream frosting, but the pecans balance it out perfectly!

Originally posted October 23, 2014

So I’m making this frosting the other day with Charlotte, and it’s going great. There is a cloud of powdered sugar in the air, spilt maple syrup on the counter, small, buttery fingers, and all the measuring cups are being lined up and realigned just so. Typical bake-with-mom frosting session.

I taste the frosting and ask her, “What does it need Charlotte?” And she says, casually throwing a thumb over her shoulder toward the computer, “I don’t know Mom. Go check your blog.”

Seriously?? Even my 3-year-old knows that I can’t do anything without consulting a recipe. This might sound weird coming from a food blogger, but what can I say, the internet just knows too many things for me to want to take the time to guess everything. (It needed salt, btw, and yes, I figured it out ALL BY MYSELF.)

My brother Nathan was totally mocking me the other night because I looked up my own recipe for a grilled cheese sandwich. Yes, I looked up a recipe for a freaking sandwich, on my own blog. Now granted, they were these awesome Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, but still. You kinda lose some amount of cooking-cred when you have to look up a sandwich recipe. (Maybeit’s the Charlatan coming out in me?) Honestly though, that’s part of what this blog is about: cataloguing recipes I love so I don’t forget them!

Maple Buttercream Frosting

I am in looooove with this frosting. I’ve been experimenting for a couple weeks now and finally got it to optimal awesomeness. I really love the sophisticated touch the pecans add. The nuts are chopped so small that you don’t really feel like you’re eating nuts. There is no nut-crunching necessary, they just melt into the frosting perfectly and add great flavor. This frosting is verysweet without the nuts, so if pecans aren’t your thing you’re crazy just pair it with cookies or cake that is not overly sweet.

How to make Maple Frosting

The first step is to get those delicious pecans all chopped up nice and small. You can do them by hand or in a food processor. I like them small and I like saving time so I drop them in the cuisinart and hit the pulse button until I’m happy. Take a look at the photos to see how small I like them, but you do you!

Next you roast up those pecans. Set a frying pan over medium heat. Add the pecans and stir occasionally until they start to smell delicious, or until they barely start to brown. You can let those cool while you start on the buttercream.

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter to within an inch of its life. Just kidding, beat it for a couple minutes until it’s high and fluffy. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and maple syrup and keep beating it until well mixed. Add another cup of powdered sugar, the maple extract, and salt until it is all combine.

Lastly, you add those beautiful chopped pecans (they should be fully cooled). Then enjoy! Put them on whatever beautiful baked good you’ve got planned.

Ingredients for Maple Frosting

• Pecans (toasted, finely chopped)
• Butter (salted)
• Powdered Sugar
• Real Maple Syrup (Grade A)
• Maple Extract
• Salt

Here’s theCinnamon Cardamom Cakethat I made to go with this frosting:

UPDATE: I also used a variation of this frosting to make Carrot Cake. (I added cream cheese!): Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Pecan Frosting.

Other cakes and frostings to love:

Butterscotch Pumpkin Cake:

Blackberry Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

Strawberry Truffle Cake

S’mores Buttercream Frosting by Wine and Glue

Apple Cider Cupcakes with Nutmeg Frosting from Eat Live Run

Honey Buttercream Frosting from The Cupcake Project

Facebook|Pinterest|Instagram|Twitter