Easy & Irresistible Pecan Pie Upside Down Cake: Your Go-To Fall Dessert
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Prepare to be amazed by this effortlessly delicious Pecan Pie Upside Down Cake, a dessert that masterfully captures all the rich, comforting flavors of a classic pecan pie in a delightful cake format. This isn’t just any cake; it features a wonderfully moist and tender cinnamon cake, elevated by the nutty depth of browned butter. It’s crowned with a luscious, chewy pecan caramel topping that glistens with a sticky-sweet perfection, making every bite an unforgettable experience. If you’re a devoted fan of traditional pecan pie, this upside-down cake will undoubtedly become your new autumnal obsession. It’s truly the perfect treat for crisp fall days, cozy evenings at home, or any festive gathering, offering a sophisticated yet easy-to-make dessert that requires absolutely no electric mixers!
This Pecan Upside Down Cake recipe is a dream come true for all pecan enthusiasts, serving as an exquisite afternoon snack or the grand finale to a holiday meal. The star of the show is an incredibly soft and fluffy brown butter cinnamon cake, perfectly complemented by the caramelized pecans that form the cake’s delectable topping. Its simplicity is truly a highlight; designed to be mixed entirely by hand, it eliminates the need for any fancy equipment, making it accessible to bakers of all skill levels. Whether you’re planning your Thanksgiving feast, preparing for the festive holiday season, or simply craving a comforting dessert, this cake is an ideal choice that promises to impress with minimal effort.
Looking for more heartwarming fall recipes? Be sure to explore our delightful Cinnamon Cheesecake, the ultimate Pumpkin Cupcakes, and a truly indulgent Apple Crumble Cheesecake.
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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Flavorful Cinnamon Cake: This cake is incredibly moist and boasts a delightful cinnamon flavor that perfectly harmonizes with the nutty pecans and sweet caramel. Its straightforward preparation requires only a hand whisk, ensuring a light and airy texture without the fuss of complex machinery. The hint of cinnamon makes it undeniably festive and comforting, ideal for autumn.
- The Magic of Brown Butter: What sets this cake apart is the inclusion of browned butter in the cake batter. Browning butter transforms its flavor, lending it a rich, nutty, and slightly caramel-like aroma that adds an unparalleled depth to the cake. This extra step, while simple, infuses the entire dessert with a sophisticated taste profile that is truly irresistible.
- Irresistible Pecan Caramel Topping: The cake is crowned with a decadent and chewy pecan caramel topping. As the cake bakes, the caramel and pecans bubble and meld together, creating a sticky, sweet, and nutty layer that adheres beautifully to the cake when flipped. This topping delivers both an incredible texture and an intense flavor burst, reminiscent of classic pecan pie filling.
INGREDIENT NOTES
These are some of the key ingredients and considerations for crafting this exquisite Pecan Pie Upside Down Cake. For a full and detailed list of ingredients with precise measurements, please refer to the recipe card below.
- All-Purpose Flour: This forms the essential structure of our cake, ensuring a light and airy crumb. I typically prefer using all-purpose flour with a protein content between 10-11% for optimal texture, providing enough structure without making the cake dense.
- Granulated Sugar: Beyond its primary role in sweetening the cake, granulated sugar also contributes significantly to its moisture content and helps create that tender crumb we all love. It balances the richness of the butter and pecans beautifully.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These are our crucial leavening agents. They work in tandem to create air pockets within the batter, causing the cake to rise and achieve its wonderfully light and fluffy texture. Baking soda typically reacts with acidic ingredients, while baking powder is a complete leavener.
- Salt: A pinch of salt is indispensable in baking. It doesn’t just add flavor but also enhances all the other ingredients, balancing the sweetness and making the overall taste more complex and pronounced.
- Large Eggs: Eggs serve multiple purposes in baking: they bind ingredients together, add richness, contribute to the cake’s structure, and provide moisture. For the best results and proper emulsion with other ingredients, always ensure your eggs are at room temperature. Take them out of the fridge 1-2 hours before you plan to bake, depending on your kitchen’s ambient temperature.
- Flavor-Neutral Oil: Using a flavor-neutral oil, such as canola or sunflower oil, helps keep the cake incredibly moist and tender. It contributes to the cake’s overall softness without imparting any unwanted flavors, allowing the brown butter and cinnamon to shine.
- Sour Cream: This ingredient is a secret weapon for an exceptionally moist cake. Sour cream adds a fantastic amount of moisture and richness, along with a subtle tang that beautifully complements the sweetness. It also aids in creating a desirable tender structure for the cake. Ensure it’s at room temperature for smooth incorporation.
- Butter: High-quality butter is used in two key ways in this recipe. First, it forms the base of the rich pecan caramel topping. Second, a portion of the butter for the cake batter is browned, infusing the cake with a deep, nutty, and complex flavor that truly elevates this dessert beyond the ordinary.
- Pecans: The star nut of this recipe! Choose fresh, good-quality pecans for the best flavor and crunch in your topping. Chopping them ensures an even distribution and an irresistible chewy texture.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Essential for the pecan topping, dark brown sugar provides a deeper molasses flavor and contributes to the chewy, rich caramel texture that makes this upside-down cake so special.
- Light Corn Syrup (or substitute): This ingredient in the topping is crucial for preventing sugar crystallization, ensuring a smooth, glossy, and perfectly chewy caramel layer. If you don’t have corn syrup, glucose syrup, honey, or agave nectar can be used as effective substitutes.
- Vanilla Extract: Both in the pecan topping and the cake batter, a good quality vanilla extract enhances all the sweet and nutty flavors, adding a warm, aromatic note that ties everything together.
- Ground Cinnamon: This spice is the heart of our cake’s flavor profile. It brings warmth, depth, and a classic fall aroma that pairs exquisitely with the browned butter and pecans, making each bite truly comforting.
- Cornstarch: A small amount of cornstarch in the dry ingredients helps to tenderize the cake, creating an even softer and more delicate crumb. It lightens the texture of the all-purpose flour.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Crafting this delightful Pecan Pie Upside Down Cake is simpler than you might imagine, and the best part is, you won’t need an electric mixer! All you require are a few basic tools: one large mixing bowl for the cake batter, a whisk, and a rubber spatula. This hands-on approach ensures a truly satisfying baking experience.
For the complete, detailed recipe, including precise measurements and quantities, please scroll down to the recipe card below.
Before you begin, preheat your oven to 170ºC (340ºF) for a conventional oven. Take a 20 cm (8 inch) cake pan and generously grease it with butter. This is a crucial step to prevent sticking. Then, line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper. This parchment paper acts as an extra layer of protection, ensuring your beautiful pecan topping releases perfectly.
Preparing the Pecan Caramel Topping
STEP 1: Start by preparing your pecans. Roughly chop the pecans into medium-sized pieces – you want a good balance of crunch and chewiness in the topping. Set these chopped pecans aside for now. Next, grab a medium-sized saucepan and add the dark brown sugar, light corn syrup (or your chosen substitute like honey or agave), butter, and vanilla extract. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and gently melt the ingredients together, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook until the butter and sugar have completely melted and the mixture is smooth and slightly bubbling, forming a rich, fragrant caramel base.
STEP 2: Carefully pour the warm caramel mixture directly into your prepared cake pan, spreading it evenly across the bottom. Then, take your reserved chopped pecans and scatter them uniformly over the caramel layer. This ensures that every slice of cake will have that delicious, nutty topping. Set this pan aside to cool slightly while you prepare the cake batter.
Crafting the Brown Butter Cinnamon Cake
STEP 3: Now, for the star flavor! In a frying pan, brown the butter over medium heat. Keep a close eye on it, stirring occasionally, until it turns a lovely golden-brown color and emits a wonderfully nutty aroma. You’ll see small brown bits forming at the bottom – these are the flavorful milk solids. Once browned, immediately pour the warm brown butter into a medium-sized mixing bowl to stop the cooking process. Add the granulated sugar to the browned butter. Using a hand whisk, vigorously whisk them together until they are well combined and slightly lighter in color. This helps to dissolve the sugar and incorporate air.
STEP 4: Crack both eggs into the butter-sugar mixture and whisk vigorously until they are fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth and glossy. In a separate bowl, sift together all your dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon). Now, add approximately half of these dry ingredients to your wet mixture and whisk until just combined – be careful not to overmix at this stage. Next, incorporate the sour cream, vegetable oil, and the remaining vanilla extract, mixing until everything is smooth. Finally, add the second half of the dry ingredients and gently mix until no streaks of flour remain. A final gentle fold with a rubber spatula ensures everything from the bottom of the bowl is incorporated without overworking the batter.
STEP 5: Carefully pour the prepared cake batter over the pecan caramel layer in your baking pan. Use your spatula to gently spread the cake batter into an even layer, ensuring it covers all the pecans. Place the pan into your preheated oven and bake for 50-55 minutes. To check for doneness, insert a cake tester or a toothpick into the center of the cake; it should come out clean, with no wet batter attached.
STEP 6: Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire cooling rack for approximately 10 minutes. This crucial cooling period allows the caramel to set slightly but remain fluid enough for an easy flip. After 10 minutes, gently run a thin knife along the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Now for the exciting part: place a serving plate upside down on top of the baking pan. Holding both the plate and the pan firmly, carefully but swiftly flip the cake over. Be cautious, as the pan and cake will still be warm. Lift the pan off, and admire your beautifully inverted cake! If any pecans or caramel stick to the bottom of the pan, don’t fret – simply use a rubber spatula to carefully scrape them out and gently press them back onto the cake. Let the cake cool completely on the serving plate before slicing and enjoying to allow the caramel to fully set and the flavors to meld.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS
- Use a Kitchen Scale for Precision: For all my recipes, grams are the default unit of measurement, and for good reason. Baking is often likened to a science, where precision significantly impacts the final outcome. Using a kitchen scale is by far the most accurate method for measuring ingredients, ensuring consistent and perfect results every time. It eliminates the inconsistencies of volumetric measurements (like cups), which can vary widely depending on how ingredients are packed. Invest in a good digital scale for superior baking success.
- Avoid Overmixing Your Batter: Once your wet and dry ingredients are combined, mix only until just incorporated. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour excessively, which can lead to a tough, dense, and less tender cake. After all ingredients appear mixed, I always perform one final, gentle fold with a rubber spatula. This ensures that any pockets of unmixed ingredients at the bottom of the bowl are fully incorporated without overworking the batter, guaranteeing a light and tender crumb.
- Choose the Right Baking Pan: The type of baking pan you use can significantly affect your cake’s texture and crust. For the absolute best results, I highly recommend using an aluminum baking pan. These pans are typically light in color, which means they reflect heat rather than absorbing it intensely. This allows the cake to bake more gently and evenly, resulting in a softer, more delicate crumb and a beautifully golden, rather than overly dark, crust. Always remember to grease your aluminum pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment paper for easy release. In contrast, dark or black baking pans absorb more heat, which can lead to a darker, tougher crust and potentially a drier cake due to faster moisture evaporation.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure eggs, butter (for the cake batter), and sour cream are at room temperature. This allows them to emulsify better, creating a smoother, more uniform batter and a finer-textured cake.
- Perfect Brown Butter: When browning the butter, use a light-colored pan so you can clearly see the milk solids turning golden. Watch it closely, stirring frequently, and remove it from the heat as soon as it reaches a nutty aroma and an amber color. It can burn very quickly!
- Flipping the Cake: The timing for flipping the upside-down cake is crucial. Waiting too long will cause the caramel to harden and stick to the pan. Flipping it after 10-15 minutes of cooling ensures the caramel is still warm and fluid enough to release cleanly. Don’t be shy; a quick, confident flip is best!
FAQ
Yes, absolutely! Plain Greek yogurt is an excellent 1:1 substitute for sour cream. It provides a similar tanginess and richness, contributing to a wonderfully moist cake. You could also experiment with buttermilk, though the consistency might be slightly thinner, so adjust flour or liquid very slightly if needed.
Without a doubt! This Pecan Pie Upside Down Cake is divine on its own, but serving it warm with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream takes it to another level. The cold, melting ice cream against the warm, nutty cake and chewy caramel is a truly heavenly combination. Butter pecan ice cream or even a dollop of whipped cream would also be fantastic!
The most reliable method to check for doneness is the cake tester or toothpick test. Once the minimum baking time specified in the recipe has passed, gently insert a thin cake tester or a clean toothpick into the very center of the cake. If it comes out clean, with no wet batter clinging to it, your cake is ready. If there’s still wet batter, continue baking for a few more minutes and retest.
Yes, this cake holds up beautifully! You can bake it a day in advance. Store it covered at room temperature for up to 24 hours. For longer storage, refrigerate as per the instructions below. Reheating slices gently in the microwave or oven can bring back some of its fresh-baked warmth.
Proper preparation of the baking pan is key. Ensure you generously grease the entire pan with butter, not just the bottom. Crucially, line the bottom with parchment paper. This creates a non-stick barrier. Also, make sure to flip the cake while it’s still warm (after the recommended 10-15 minutes of cooling), as the caramel will be more pliable and less likely to adhere firmly to the pan.
While pecans are traditional and perfect for this recipe, you can certainly experiment! Walnuts or even a mix of pecans and walnuts would work wonderfully, offering a slightly different but equally delicious nutty flavor profile. Just ensure they are roughly chopped to the size specified for pecans.
HOW TO STORE
To maintain the freshness and delightful texture of your Pecan Pie Upside Down Cake, proper storage is essential. For immediate enjoyment, store the cake in an airtight container or tightly covered with cling film at room temperature for up to one day. This helps keep the cake moist and the topping slightly tender. If you plan to store it for longer, or if your kitchen is particularly warm, it should be transferred to the refrigerator. When refrigerated, the cake is best enjoyed within 2-3 days to preserve its optimal flavor and moisture. To serve from the fridge, you can gently warm individual slices in the microwave for a few seconds or in a low oven to soften the caramel and enhance the flavors. You can also freeze slices for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then foil. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Other Fall Recipes To Try
- Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
- Gooey Pecan Pie Brownies with Brown Butter
- Giant Cinnamon Rolls (Soft, Gooey Tangzhong Milk Bread Rolls)
- Chocolate Coffee Pie – Silky Chocolate Coffee Pastry Cream and Whipped Mascarpone Cream
If you adored this recipe, please make sure to leave a STAR REVIEW! Your feedback helps others discover amazing desserts. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @juliemarieeats when you share your delicious creations. To get even more baking inspiration and ideas, be sure to follow me on Pinterest.
Pecan Pie Upside Down Cake
Pin Recipe
Equipment
- 20 cm (8 in) baking pan
Ingredients
PECAN TOPPING
- 150 g pecans
- 90 g dark brown sugar
- 65 g light corn syrup or glucose syrup, honey or agave
- 90 g butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
CINNAMON CAKE
- 170 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 110 g butter
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 120 g sour cream room temperature
- 30 g vegetable oil e.g. canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
The US customary cup measurement serves as a rough estimate, as it can have uncertainties, so for precise results, it’s recommended to weigh your ingredients using a digital scale in grams. Baking is both an art and a science, which most often requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
PECAN TOPPING
- Preheat the oven at 170ºC/340ºF conventional oven and line a 20 cm/8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Start by chopping the pecans and set them aside.150 g pecans
- Then in a medium sized saucepan, add the dark brown sugar, light corn syrup, butter and vanilla extract. Melt it together over medium-high heat until the butter and sugar has melted.90 g dark brown sugar, 65 g light corn syrup, 90 g butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour it into the prepared pan and then divide the chopped pecans over it in an even layer. Set it aside while making the cake.
BROWN BUTTER CINNAMON CAKE
- In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set it aside.170 g all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Then brown the butter over medium heat in a frying pan. Once browned, pour it into a mixing bowl. Add the granulated sugar and with a hand whisk, whisk it together until combined.110 g butter, 150 g granulated sugar
- Add both eggs and whisk until combined. Then add half of the dry ingredients and whisk it together until combined.2 large eggs
- Add the sour cream, vegetable oil and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Then add the other half of the dry ingredients and mix until combined.120 g sour cream, 30 g vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the cake batter over the pecans and spread the cake batter into an even layer. Bake them for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool on a cooling rack. After 10 minutes, drag a knife along the edge of the cake and then place a serving plate on top of the baking pan and flip it upside down. It’s still warm so be careful. Some of the pecan might be left in the pan or fall to the side. Add it on top of the cake with a rubber spatula, to not miss any of it.
- Let it cool down before enjoying it.