Tag: pecan cakes

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Pumpkin Upside-Down Cake

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img_2954Since it is officially Fall, there are now 6 cans of pumpkin in the pantry, 3 lbs of cream cheese in the fridge and I’m ready to bake. Spotted this beautiful Fall Baking Magazine at the store so, of course, couldn’t pass it up. This will be perfect to take to card night next week, (along with s’more bites to throw in our mouths ever time we change tables, which allows me to pass right by these little gems). Janece, this ones for you!

Ingredients

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick, unless you buy the small sticks of butter, in which case would be two sticks)

1 tables water

2/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts (will use pecans)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

3/4 cup sugar (granulated)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs (room temperature)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teas baking powder

1 teas cinnamon (will make this a heaping teas as we love cinnamon)

1/4 teas ground ginger

1/4 teas salt

1/8 teas cloves

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8″ square baking dish with parchment paper. Spray with nonstick baking spray with flour. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, cook brown sugar, butter, and the water over medium heat until mixture bubbles, about 4 minutes. Pour sugar mixture into bottom of prepared dish; sprinkle with walnuts (pecans) and cranberry. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs. Whisk until well blended. Set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and cloves. Add pumpkin mixture, stirring to combine. Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth top with spatula.

Bake until cake tests done, which will bake about 30-35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Invert pan onto a serving platter. Remove parchment paper. Serve warm with a spoon of whipping cream, or a drizzle of caramel (or BOTH)

 

Cakes · Desserts

Southern Pecan Praline Cake

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Taken from Southern Living Magazine:

Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar,firmly packed

4 large eggs, room temp

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teas baking powder

1/4 teas baking soda

1/2 teas salt

1 cup milk

2 teas vanilla

Praline Frosting

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

4 large egg yolks

1 large can (12 oz) evaporated milk

2 teas vanilla

2 cups chopped pecans

Cake

Grease and flour 3 (9″) cake pans and preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter with both the granulated sugar and brown sugar until very light and fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the sugar batter alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Stir in the vanilla.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake in the center of your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool layers in their pans for 10 min, then loosen and turn out layers directly onto racks for cooling. Cool layers thoroughly before frosting.

For the frosting:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in both sugars. Sugars will NOT dissolve. (they will dissolve in the final cooking stage)

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the evaporated milk until smooth, then whisk this mixture into the saucepan with the sugar mixture. Return saucepan to a medium heat setting and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick, shiny and caramel-like, about 15-20 minutes. This is when the sugars will dissolve.  Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and pecans. Cool frosting to a good spreading consistency which will be about 30 minutes. Spread evenly between cooled cake layers and over top and sides of cake.