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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11 Responses to “Spice Apple Bars”

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    1
    Amanda — January 28, 2009 at 2:36 pm

    I wish I could run home & bake these right now! They look so delicious & how could you go wrong with apples & cinnamon? I can’t wait to try these soon.

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    2
    Katie — January 28, 2009 at 2:45 pm

    They look so good! I LOOOVE the cute apple backround too! 🙂 🙂

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    3
    Joelen — January 28, 2009 at 4:52 pm

    These look great!

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    4
    bensbaby116 — January 28, 2009 at 4:57 pm

    I made these from Katie’s blog in the fall and took them to a school function. One of my student’s dads ate several of them. A few weeks later I made chocolate chip cookies because they’re usually a hit with everyone there, and the same dad was like “awww. where are those apple bars? I was hoping for those again.” 🙂 They are truly wonderful!

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    Jen — January 28, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    I agree! These are amazing. I send baked goods with hubby about once a week and these got so many more comments than usual. I’m actually making them again this weekend.

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    6
    Megan — January 29, 2009 at 4:15 am

    I saw that recipe last year, and I wish I had made them. They look so good.

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    7
    Julie — January 29, 2009 at 10:35 pm

    Free manual labor in exchange for apple bars? Sounds like a deal to me. I’ll have to offer that up next time I have to call a plumber 🙂

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    8
    Stephanie Wagner — February 17, 2009 at 12:22 am

    Scott made these tonight and they were AMAZING! Seriously, AMAZING!

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    Amanda — February 23, 2009 at 4:59 pm

    I made these this weekend….they were fantastic! At 10 last night Sam had to ask me “are you still eating that apple cake?” Yes. I was. I saved one more piece for after work today!

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    creativecarryout — February 26, 2009 at 10:55 pm

    Oh, my dad would love these. I have an apple bread recipe that he always requests. I’ll bookmark this one to try too. Thanks.
    Michelle
    http://oneordinaryday.wordpress.com/

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    Carly — April 28, 2010 at 10:37 pm

    I made these yesterday and think they are fabulous! So gooey, but so much better the next day! Thankyou for sharing! =)

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