Makeover Pecan Upside Down Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Butter the inside of a 5-quart round slow cooker, then line it completely with a large sheet of foil and butter the foil. Turn the cooker on low. Sprinkle the cut-up butter and the brown sugar over the foil in the cooker. Add the pears, arranging them in a circle, cut-side down.
• Mix the flour, pecans, cornmeal, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. In the large bowl of a mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on low speed until just blended. Increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
• With the mixer on low speed, beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed just until the batter is smooth. Spread over the pears in the slow cooker. Drape paper towels over the top of the slow cooker (not touching the cake) to prevent condensation from dripping onto the cake. Cover and cook on low until the cake sets and the sides brown, about 3 hours. Turn off the cooker and let the cake rest about 20 minutes.
• Lift the cake by the foil and place on a rack to cool. Carefully invert onto a platter and peel off the foil. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Steps:

• 1. In a small bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Spread evenly into a pan coated with cooking spray (I use a large cast iron skillet also sprayed) you can use a 9x13 inch baking pan. Set pan aside. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; beat with a mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350^ for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature . Great with ice cream of whipped cream.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet; toast until crisp, about 7 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop 1/2 cup pecans. Set remaining aside.
• Place 2 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch round cake pan; heat in the oven until melted, about 3 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over butter. Scatter chopped nuts over sugar; set aside.
• In a food processor, process reserved pecans and flour until nuts are very finely ground. Set aside. With an electric mixer, beat remaining 1/2 cup butter and remaining cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined.
• In a small bowl, combine flour mixture, baking powder, and salt; fold into egg mixture. Stir in zest. Pour into prepared pan, smoothing top.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan; invert onto a rack to cool completely, bottom side up so the butter-pecan layer is on top.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Make the topping: In an oven-safe 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, lemon juice and salt, and whisk until the brown sugar melts, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Let cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to smell like caramel and darkens slightly, about 1 minute longer. (Don't walk away or the mixture may burn.) The mixture will clump and separate, but that's OK.
• Add fruit and nuts, gently tossing to coat with the caramel. Remove from heat and arrange fruit into an even layer on bottom of skillet. Ignore any sugar clumps; they will dissolve during baking.
• Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until thoroughly combined. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Add sour cream and whisk until well mixed. Sprinkle in baking powder, baking soda and salt into the batter, one at a time, and whisking vigorously after each addition. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in flour until just incorporated. The mixture will be lumpy, but that's OK. Don't overmix. Scrape batter into the skillet over the fruit and spread evenly.
• Bake until surface is deeply browned all over (with darker brown edges) and the fruit is lightly bubbling along the sides of the skillet, about 35 to 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. A toothpick inserted into cake will come out clean.
• Once the cake is out of the oven, immediately run a butter knife or offset spatula along the edge of the skillet. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to cool slightly. Carefully invert cake into serving platter. If some fruit or nuts stick to bottom of the skillet, gently remove them using offset spatula or knife and place back onto cake. Let cake cool until the fruit topping sets, at least 30 minutes to 1 hour, before serving. Cake is best served on the day it is baked.