Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Cake

This week is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Thanksgiving is all about the food. And football. And family. And friends. It doesn’t get much better than that.

This cake can make Thanksgiving even better for you. I made this the other night and I had to literally put it away so I wouldn’t eat the whole thing. It’s absolutely amazing. It combines all my favorite Thanksgiving flavors with the pumpkin cake topped with a caramel/pecan/cranberry topping. And it is one of the easiest desserts to make ever. If you need a dessert for Thanksgiving, definitely give this a shot.

We loved it so much I will be making it again. Twice in one week. I never repeat recipes, let alone in the same week. Seriously, it’s that good.

One Year Ago: Thanksgiving Two-Fer Bars and NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two Years Ago: Oreo Brownies and Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

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Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Cake

Yield: 8-10

Ingredients:

8 ounces (2 sticks or 16 Tbsp) unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups cranberries
4 ounces (1 cup) coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line the bottom of a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a small saucepot over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and whisk until smooth.

Pour the brown sugar mixture into the bottom of the cake pan.

In a medium bowl combine the cranberries and pecans. Place them in the pan over the brown sugar mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree and oil.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Carefully spread the batter over the cranberry pecan topping.

Bake until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.

Cool the cake for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Place a large plate or platter on top of the cake. Invert the cake and plate together. Remove the pan. Carefully peel off the parchment paper.

Recipe from Martha Stewart

I’m using this cake as my monthly What’s Baking challenge. Be sure to check out Catherine’s blog for the roundup later this month.

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23 Responses to “Banana Split Cupcake”

  1. #
    1
    stephchows — September 15, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    Great cupcake hero entry!!! yum!

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    2
    oneordinaryday — September 15, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    You’re right – it’s a freaking cute cupcake! I especially love that frosting and how you got it to look like a scoop of ice cream. Nicely done!
    This is my first CH and I can’t wait till the voting begins! : )

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    3
    Amanda — September 15, 2009 at 2:49 pm

    Wow, what a yummy looking cupcake! Great idea!

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    oneparticularkitchen — September 15, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    This is ADORABLE!! I love it!

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    5
    Xiaolu — September 15, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Gorgeous cupcake, Jen! I love how the cherry stands out. How do you get that black background if you don’t mind me asking? I’m pretty new to this food photography thing 8)

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    6
    Amy Kingman — September 15, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    Yummmm!!!!!

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    7
    Jen — September 15, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    Xiaolu – It’s actually just my black table. I’ve also had luck using a plain black piece of construction paper (most of my backgrounds are the 12×12 scrap-booking papers) or a black towel to get the background all black.

    Here is an example using paper, and one using a towel.

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    8
    Xiaolu — September 15, 2009 at 5:59 pm

    Thanks! That’s really helpful.

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    9
    Joanna — September 15, 2009 at 8:28 pm

    Yum! Great idea 🙂

  10. #
    10
    Stephanie Wagner — September 15, 2009 at 10:44 pm

    Awesome idea!

  11. #
    11
    bcallegra — September 16, 2009 at 2:04 am

    Very creative and it looks great!

  12. #
    12
    The Novice Chef — September 16, 2009 at 3:15 am

    What a cute idea! I love it!! And I know my nieces would be in love!

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    13
    nutmegnanny — September 16, 2009 at 3:33 am

    Great idea…they look delicious!

  14. #
    14
    jesstyler — September 16, 2009 at 4:08 am

    holy deliciousness! I NEED one of those! 🙂

  15. #
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    Kerstin — September 16, 2009 at 4:48 am

    How creative, I love them! So cute and tasty with that cherry on top!

  16. #
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    Ingrid — September 16, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    Very cute looking! I like your idea.
    ~ingrid

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    lifeoftheparty — September 16, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    These cupcakes are pure genius… you’ve definitely got my vote!

  18. #
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    Jigginjessica — September 17, 2009 at 12:34 am

    Cute idea! What a great entry!

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    19
    thegreatpantryraid — September 17, 2009 at 7:37 pm

    Wow – super cute! A lot of work, I’m sure, but such a big payoff! Great job!

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    20
    Kami — September 17, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    So stinkin’ cute!

  21. #
    21
    Caroline — September 19, 2009 at 6:23 am

    Very cute, indeed and loving the pineapple in the frosting. I can just imagine how delicious this would taste. What a great idea.

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    22
    Keiara Wells — September 19, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    MMM, it looks fantastic! I’ll have to try this one 🙂 xox

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    Sweet and Savory — October 15, 2009 at 5:55 am

    These cupcakes are precious besides, I am sure, being delicious. What a great idea.

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