This Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Coffee Cake is light and moist. Baked upside down with a cranberry pecan topping that is infused with a brown sugar and butter sauce. Flip it over for a beautiful and tasty breakfast treat or dessert!
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This Upside Down Coffee Cake is a delicious holiday treat that can be served for breakfast, brunch or dessert. The cake is moist and flavorful and the cranberry, pecan, butter, brown sugar topping takes it next level!
All cranberry lovers will be excited to see this impressive, made from scratch cake on the menu.
Other cranberry recipes to try include these Cranberry Banana Muffins and Cranberry Pecan Muffins.
If you need more holiday dessert ideas here are a few favorites to try!
- This Chocolate Peppermint Pound Cake is is rich and decadent.
- White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge has only four ingredients.
- Delicious Frosted Carrot Cake Loaf is topped with homemade cream cheese frosting.
- Get your chocolate and pumpkin fix with these Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Brownies.
- A favorite Christmas appetizer is this Candy Cane Christmas Dip.
Ingredients
See printable recipe card below for specific measurements and complete instructions.
Topping Ingredients
light brown sugar
unsalted butter
dried unsweetened cranberries
chopped pecans
Cake Batter Ingredients
unsalted butter
granulated sugar
eggs
vanilla extract
Greek plain yogurt
all purpose flour
baking powder
baking soda
ground cinnamon
salt
How To Make Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Coffee Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8 or 9 inch cake pan with a non-stick spray. For easier removal you can also line the bottom with parchment paper.
Make The Topping
Add the dried cranberries to a small bowl and fill with hot water. Soak them for 10 minutes then drain the water. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a small saucepan melt 5 Tablespoons of butter and stir in 2/3 cup of brown sugar. Once melted and combined, pour the mixture into the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Cover the bottom with the cranberries and pecans. Set aside.
Make The cake
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and mix in the vanilla. Alternating with the sour cream, mix in the flour mixture a little bit at a time.
The batter will be thick. Spoon the batter over the topping layer and carefully smooth to the edges.
Bake
Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. I used an 8 inch cake pan and it took 60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then place a plate on top and carefully flip the cake over onto the plate.
If any topping is left behind just spoon it onto the top of your cake before it cools.
This cake is best served warm.
Frequently Asked Question
Yes! Add the dried cranberries to a small bowl filled with hot water and soak them for 10 minutes to plump and rehydrate.
To keep the topping from sticking, prepare your pan by greasing the bottom or you can line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with non-stick spray.
Helpful Supplies and Tools
Here are a few items that I recommend and use in my kitchen that are helpful when baking and cooking. (Affiliate links).
- This 3-piece Pyrex Mixing Bowl Set is regularly used in my kitchen. I highly recommend them.
- If you need a new mixer this Hamilton Beach Electric Hand Mixer is a great one for the price and it has a handy snap-on storage case. I use it in my kitchen.
- This Heat Resistant Silicone Spatula Set works great for scraping sauces and mixing batters. They come in 6 different color options.
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I hope you enjoy this Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Coffee Cake! If you try this recipe, please come back and rate it and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from you!
Cranberry Pecan Upside Down Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup Greek plain yogurt
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Topping
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8 or 9 inch cake pan with a non-stick spray. For easier removal you can also line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Add the dried cranberries to a small bowl and fill with warm water. Soak them for 10 minutes then drain the water. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan melt 5 Tablespoons of butter and stir in 2/3 cup of brown sugar. Once melted and combined, pour the mixture into the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Cover the bottom with the cranberries and pecans. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and mix in the vanilla. Alternating with the sour cream, mix in the flour mixture a little bit at a time. The batter will be thick. Spoon the batter over the topping layer and carefully smooth to the edges.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. I used an 8 inch cake pan and it took 60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then place a plate on top and carefully flip the cake over onto the plate.
Christie
Saturday 6th of May 2023
Cake ingredients say 1 butter. 1 what? Stick? Cup?
Judy
Saturday 6th of May 2023
Hi Christie, Thank you for catching that. I have updated the recipe card. It is 1 stick unsalted butter.