Picture it: Orlando, FL, early 2000’s.
I’m channeling my inner Sophia Petrillo.
Golden Girls anyone?
Alrighty then. It was the early 2000’s that I started my professional culinary career. I did my externship at a large convention hotel, and then I stayed on board for five more years. I made my way to the pastry department and I found my home. The executive chefs used to gather weekly for their lunch, and our department would make the desserts. We rotated every week, and one week one of the associates had her turn coming up, and she had no idea what to make. And her moment of despair (LOL) came at the perfect time. I had come across this recipe, and I was keeping it tucked away for when I had time to make it. Long story short I passed it along to her and this basic little pumpkin cranberry upside down cake ended up on our Thanksgiving buffet menu. Because the execs loved it that much.
Because who run the world?
Girls.
This cake is perfect. It’s simple to make, has a great presentation, and personally it takes me right back down memory lane.
And not to mention life’s little lessons that are sometimes hidden right where we can see them. We should all root for each other, and we should all watch each other grow. ❤️
Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin purée
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions :
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray and line an 8″ round pan with parchment.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add in the brown sugar and stir until combined. Pour it into the sprayed and lined cake pan.
3. Put the cranberries and pecans right on top of the brown sugar/butter sticky topping.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine the liquid ingredients : pumpkin purée, eggs, and oil.
5. In another bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.
6. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, until just combined. It will be thick, and resemble the texture of pancake batter. This is normal, trust me, your cake will be fine.
7. Put the batter into the cake pan, on top of the pecan/cranberry mixture, and smooth it out. Pop it into your oven at 350 degrees until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. This will be about 45-50 minutes.
8. Leave the cake to cool on a rack, or your stovetop for about 10-15 minutes, and then invert it onto your serving plate. It helps to run your knife around the edges of the cake first also.
Enjoy! ♥️
Xo,
K
Beans+Rahz 