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
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.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
How cool! These look delicious!
This totally takes me back to childhood. We ALWAYS used fresh rhubarb from our backyard to make yummy breakfast treats!
I think I will have to make these for my parents next time they visit. They will LOVE them!
Those look amazing! I’m always on the lookout for new rhubarb recipes, the season for it is so short in Western Ma, that I tend to buy WAY too much and stick in the freezer..
I have never had rhubarb before, but these look great!
They’re so pretty – I love family recipes!
I never know what to do with Rhubard, but these looks awesome!
divine. i want one. right now. pretty please?? 🙂
I love your recipes, lactose free and awesome, I will def. have to try this. Ps. we should team up and do something lactose free together in solidarity!
Thanks everyone – seriously if you have rhubarb hanging around. Make these. You won’t regret it.
I’m a little lost. The ingredients list mentions 5 c. rhubarb (and you break it into 3 c. for the filling and 2 c. for the sauce) but I don’t see in the step-by-step instructions when/where/how the 2 c. of rhubarb are used. Please help!
Thanks!
alexandjess – thanks for catching my mistake. I added the instructions about the sauce into the post, but you make the sauce by boiling 2 cups cut rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 1 1/3 cups water. The rhubarb for the sauce can be cut in large chunks because it all falls apart anyways.
Your sisters made the rhubarb rolls and stuffed dates yesterday for our Memorial Day cookout. They were delicious!!!! Can’t wait to have another piece tonight for desert. I have a new recipe for potato salad that is delish….let me know if you want me to pass on.
i made these tonight and they went awry for a series of reasons that were my fault and won’t go all into…. one thing i did though was use half rhubarb and half strawberries, which sounded delish but i didn’t cut the sugar enough and i think that also made things more watery. my question though, is whether by ‘shortening’ you specifically mean something like crisco or whether you just mean butter or margarine or anything like that. i used butter and didn’t see how i could get away with a little ‘stirring’ before rolling. i tried to cut it in with a pastry blender, but in the end maybe that was too much action for the dough as it seemed a little gummy after cooking….
i’d appreciate any advice!
natasha – I use Crisco for the dough. I think that’s what my dad always uses as well. Hopefully that is what caused the gumminess. Sorry they didn’t turn out for you.
My family has been making these for years. I have used butter or margarine to cut into the flour mixture for the dough and have never had a problem. I always roll my dough out into a rectangle and when I cut the rolls they NEVER look as neat as the ones you have pictured! I have added strawberries but only in the sauce. My mom liked to add red food coloring to make it look more rosy. We bake for 20 minutes before pouring on the sauce and then another 20 minutes. I have to make it every spring in honor of my mom.
my grandma recipe calls thesr soringtime rollypoly, and can ad what ever frozen berries you have , frozen is the least messy
sorry thats springtime rollypolly