Description
Rich caramel pecan upside-down cake marries classic Southern comfort with sweet cinnamon warmth. Pecans and golden caramel create a delightful dessert you’ll crave after one heavenly bite.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ cups (180g / 6.3 oz) pecan halves
- 1 cup (200g / 7 oz) light brown sugar, packed (for topping)
- ½ cup (115g / 4 oz) unsalted butter (for topping)
- 1 ½ cups (190g / 6.7 oz) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (150g / 5.3 oz) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (115g / 4 oz) unsalted butter, softened (for cake)
- ½ cup (120ml / 4 fl oz) buttermilk
- ¼ cup (50g / 1.8 oz) light brown sugar, packed (for cake)
- ¼ cup (60ml / 2 fl oz) heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Caramel Preparation: Melt butter in a saucepan, whisk in brown sugar and heavy cream until a silky, bubbling caramel forms. Pour the golden mixture into a greased cake pan, creating an enticing base layer.
- Pecan Arrangement: Distribute pecan halves evenly across the caramel surface, ensuring a visually appealing topping that will emerge when the cake is inverted.
- Oven Preheating: Warm the oven to 350F (175C), creating the ideal baking environment.
- Dry Ingredient Blending: Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl, creating a uniform dry ingredient mixture.
- Butter-Sugar Creaming: Whip butter with granulated and brown sugars until light and voluminous, indicating proper aeration.
- Wet Ingredient Integration: Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla extract, blending until smooth and homogeneous.
- Batter Creation: Gently fold dry ingredients into the wet mixture, alternating with buttermilk. Mix minimally to maintain the batter’s delicate texture.
- Pan Filling: Carefully spoon batter over the pecan-caramel base, smoothing the surface for even distribution.
- Baking and Testing: Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cooling and Inverting: Rest the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then loosen edges with a knife. Confidently invert onto a serving plate, revealing the glistening pecan topping.
- Final Resting: Allow the cake to cool completely, enabling flavors to meld and caramel to set before serving this decadent dessert.
Notes
- Perfect Caramel Consistency: Watch the caramel closely while whisking to prevent burning; aim for a golden-amber color with smooth, glossy texture.
- Prevent Pecan Burning: Toast pecans lightly before arranging to enhance nutty flavor and prevent them from becoming bitter during baking.
- Batter Mixing Technique: Avoid overmixing the batter to maintain a tender, light cake texture; stop mixing as soon as ingredients are just combined.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure butter, eggs, and buttermilk are at room temperature for smoother blending and more even cake rise.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 7
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 37g
- Sodium: 250mg
- Fat: 24g
- Saturated Fat: 15g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 53g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 90mg