Pecan Upside Down Cake

INGREDIENTS

PECAN TOPPING

• 1 stick butter {melted}

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar {packed}

• 1/4 cup corn syrup

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

CAKE BATTER

• 1 box yellow or butter cake mix (I use Pillsbury Golden Butter)

• 1 cup sour cream 

• 3/4 cup water

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

• 3 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

METHOD

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a 12 cup bundt pan or a 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray or butter and flour liberally. In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, melted butter and corn syrup. Add pecans, stirring to coat. Spread evenly in bottom of pan.

In large bowl, beat cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, eggs and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour batter over pecan mixture in pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If using a 13X19 pan, cooking time is closer to 25-30 minutes.

Cool a maximum of 10 minutes, otherwise the cake will become too moist and stick to the pan. Run knife around edges of pan to loosen cake. Place heatproof serving plate over pan; turn plate and pan over. There’s a chance a good amount of pecans will still be stuck to the pan, just scrape them out and spread them on the cake. Another option is to place the pan on the stove and melt the caramel a bit, add a tablespoon or two of water to loosen the sauce, stir until combined and then spread over the cake.

RECIPE NOTES

Imagine if pecan pie and yellow cake got married and lived happily ever and we got to share in their joy. It’s the best of both worlds! I love a good boxed cake hack and by adding sour cream, no one will ever be able to tell you didn’t make this cake from scratch. It’s super moist, almost pudding like and the perfect rich texture to hold the weight of all that buttery pecan goodness. This cake is a sure fire hit and perfect for even the most novice bakers to come out looking like bake star!