Old Fashioned Cajun Cake Recipe - Moist Pecan Coconut Cake

Published on August 16, 2026 at 2:26 PM

Nana's Old Fashioned Cajun Cake: Simple and Good

If you ask me what cake tastes like "home" in South Louisiana, this is it. Old Fashioned Cajun Cake.

No layers, no fancy frosting. Just a moist, spiced cake with a gooey pecan and coconut topping that gets better every day.

We always made it Saturday for Sunday dinner. By then the flavors had time to meld and

it was perfect.

Nana's Old Fashioned Cajun Cake Recipe

For the Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups brown sugar - packed
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

For the Topping:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 pan.

Mix flour, brown sugar, eggs, buttermilk, oil, baking soda, vanilla, salt, pecans, and pineapple. Pour into pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes.

While cake bakes, make topping:

Boil butter, brown sugar, and milk for 2 minutes. Stir in coconut and pecans.

Pour hot topping over hot cake. Let it soak in.

Grab my favorite dessert tools→ [Linked HERE]

Nana's Kitchen Tips

1. BROWN SUGAR IS KEY.

Don’t use white sugar. The molasses in brown sugar gives it that Cajun depth you can’t fake.

2. BUTTERMILK KEEPS IT TENDER.

No buttermilk? Use 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp vinegar and let it sit 5 minutes. Works like a charm!

3. IT’S BETTER DAY 2.

Wrap it and let the flavors meld. We always made it Saturday for Sunday dinner.

Trust Nana on this one.

Grab my favorite dessert tools→ [Linked HERE]

How to Serve:

Serve it warm with butter, or cold with a glass of milk.

Simple and good. ❤️

Final Thoughts

This cake is proof that the best things don’t have to be complicated. Brown sugar, buttermilk, pecans, and a little love.

That’s Cajun cooking.

Add comment

Comments

There are no comments yet.