Vegan Pecan Upside Down Cake
This vegan pecan upside-down cake is a cozy and rustic dessert that captures the classic flavors of a pecan pie or sticky buns, but is made in a fraction of the time! The pecan topping is gooey and crunchy, and perfectly contrasts the soft buttery cake underneath. And the cake has a touch of maple syrup and cinnamon for extra warmth.
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Raw pecans for the topping. If you’re not a fan of pecans, you can use other nuts such as walnuts or almonds. If you’re avoiding nuts altogether, check out my pineapple upside-down cake, blood orange upside down cake or peach upside down cake.
Vegan butter adds depth of flavor to the topping and helps prevent some sticking. We’re also using a little melted butter in the cake, as it adds a nostalgic depth of flavor.
Pure maple syrup for the gooey pecan topping. It has a much better flavor than corn syrup, which is traditionally used in pecan pie.
Oil for the cake because it keeps it moist! If we use all butter for the cake, it’ll feel a little dry.
A little ground cinnamon adds extra coziness to the topping and pecan cake. If you’re not a fan of cinnamon, you can substitute ground nutmeg.
Prepare the Pecan Topping
Add the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt to a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has just dissolved. Try not to overcook the mixture, otherwise the topping will turn into a brittle after baking!
TIP: If the sugar is taking a while to dissolve, add a dash of dairy-free milk and stir until smooth. Milk contains a lot of water, which helps dissolve the sugar and won’t compromise the caramel.
Remove the mixture from the heat and mix in the chopped pecans.
Spread the pecan mixture on the bottom of your prepared cake pan, then place it in the freezer to set. Chilling the pecan topping helps it firm up and stay in place when you pour the cake batter on top.
Prepare the Cake Batter
The batter for this vegan pecan upside-down cake is super easy to prepare and comes together in one large mixing bowl!
Simply, add all the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. Add the wet ingredients, then mix until everything is just combined. Initially, the batter will look thick but after 5 minutes, the sugar will dissolve and you’ll have a looser batter.
Tips for Baking
Remember how we froze the cake pan? This step helps keep the topping in place when you add the cake batter (Image 5). If your topping is still a little soft, try to avoid pouring the batter straight in the center. Instead, spoon the batter in smaller amounts around the pan! If you distribute the weight of the batter, it won’t move the topping around as much.
When the cake bakes, the caramel topping may rise the sides of the cake pan – don’t worry, this is completely normal! This makes the edges of the cake wonderfully crispy, caramelized and delightful to eat.
The cake is ready when you insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and it comes out mostly clean. There may be some gooey bits at the end of the toothpick from the caramel topping and this is totally fine.
How to Successfully Flip an Upside-Down Cake
First, let the cake cool in the pan for about 13-15 minutes. Flipping the cake too early can cause the cake to crumble. And if you flip it too late, the caramel will solidify and the cake will stick to the pan.
Carefully run an offset spatula or blunt butter knife along the sides of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Even if you grease the pan very well, this cake has a lot of caramel and is more likely to stick to the cake pan compared to upside-down cakes.
Place a large serving plate on top of the pan then, using a clean kitchen towel (your pan will be hot), quickly flip the whole thing upside down. You should hear a ‘thud’ from the cake dropping down on the plate.
This is a sticky cake, so some of the topping may stay on your parchment paper – don’t worry, this is normal! While the cake is still warm, use a spatula or spoon to place the caramelized pecans back on the cake. The rustic and scraggly topping is part of this cake’s charm.
Customizing this Recipe
Coconut oil will work decently in the cake batter, without any other changes. For the topping, I suggest adding a dash of dairy-free milk or cream, as this will help dissolve the sugar. Coconut oil doesn’t contain any water, whereas butter does, and we need the water to help dissolve the sugar.
Use a very very sharp knife! For extra neat cuts, use a serrated knife to carefully saw through the pecan mixture then one swift motion to cut down through the cake. The pecans will inevitably squish parts of the cake and this is unavoidable.
You can prepare the topping 1-2 days in advance. Just pour the pecan caramel into the cake pan, smooth it out, cover then chill in the refrigerator until needed. The topping will fully solidify and may change in color, which is perfectly fine!
It’s best to serve the cake on the day of baking because the topping can change in appearance over time.
More Easy Cozy Vegan Desserts
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Vegan Pecan Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
Pecan Topping
- ½ cup (115g) vegan butter
- ⅓ cup (65g) packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (65g) maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, or 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (105g) chopped pecans
Vanilla Cake
- 1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, if using unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (190g) dairy-free milk, room temperature
- ¼ cup (55g) neutral flavored oil
- ¼ cup (55g) melted vegan butter, and cooled (or extra oil)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon, or ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line the bottom of a 20cm (8-inch) round cake pan that's at least 6cm (2.5-inch) tall with parchment paper. Generously grease the parchment paper and sides of the cake pan. Alternatively, you can also use a 23cm (9-inch) cake pan for a shorter cake (note 1 for 9-inch pan).
Prepare the pecan topping:
- Add the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt to a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix the ingredients until the butter has melted and the sugar has just dissolved. If the sugar is taking some time to dissolve, add a dash of milk and stir until smooth.
- Add the pecans to the caramel, and mix through. Spread the pecan topping evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place the cake pan in the freezer to let the topping set.
Prepare the vanilla cake batter:
- In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients and whisk until well combined. Add all the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan on top of the pecans.
Bake and serve:
- Bake the cake for around 48-53 minutes (or 45-50 minutes for a 9-inch pan). If your cake is browning too quickly, carefully tent the pan with aluminum foil. The cake is ready when the surface is a light golden brown, and if you insert a toothpick into the center, it should come out mostly clean (a few moist crumbs are fine).
- Let the cake cool in its pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes. Place a serving platter on top of the pan and quickly turn the cake upside down. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. It's delicious with a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped dairy-free cream!
- Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Let the cake come to room temperature or reheat in the microwave before serving. You can also freeze leftovers, but the appearance of the topping will change.
Notes
- If you’re using a 9-inch (23cm) cake pan, you’ll need more ingredients for the topping. Use 2/3 cup (150g) vegan butter, 6 tablespoons (75g) packed light brown sugar, 3 1/2 tablespoons (75g) maple syrup, a heaped 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1 1/4 cups (130g) chopped pecans.
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I just made this cake and it came out. Incredibly delicious! This is definitely going to be one of my recipes for life! Thanks for sharing 🫶
Hi Dev, aw that’s the best news and I’m thrilled that the recipe will be a keeper for you!! Thanks so much for your feedback, I appreciate it a lot 🙂
Hello, could you please tell me if the vegan butter has to be warmed before using to make the vanilla batter? Many thanks in advance
Hi Laurence, the butter needs to be melted but slightly cooled before using in the batter. If the butter is too warm, it’ll cook some of the flour before mixing. You can see some step-by-step pictures in the blog post above :). Hope that helps!
Can I use regular butter and milk for this? Thank you
Yes probably, though I haven’t tested it as I don’t eat dairy. Let me know how you go!
I made this yesterday and it turned out great! The recipe was easy to follow and the cake tastes so delicious. Beautiful texture and the flavours are so tasty. Your recipes never disappoint, thank you!
This is such lovely feedback, thank you! 💛 We’re so happy the recipe was easy to follow and that your cake turned out delicious. We really appreciate you sharing!
Made this for a party and it was a hit! No one knew it was vegan. I used coconut oil in place of vegan butter and it worked just fine!
Yay, we’re so happy to hear this – nothing beats a vegan cake that no one can tell is vegan! We’re so glad the coconut oil swap worked too! Thank you for sharing x
Absolutely amazing! The topping is delicious, but what really impressed me was the cake itself – it’s unlike most others. It’s moist yet light and airy, and it never turns mushy in your mouth the way some cakes do. The texture is truly superb. Thank you for the wonderful recipe and for the accuracy of the instructions! I baked it for the exact amount of time listed and it came out perfectly done. One note: I reduced the sugar to 150g and no problems there.
Thank you so much for this lovely feedback 💛 We’re thrilled that you loved the cake and happy it worked with your sugar adjustment too x
Made this cake and it was amazing! Can you make this gluten free?
Hi Datania, I’m so happy that you loved this cake! I haven’t tested it with gluten-free flour so I can’t say for sure. However, when using gf flour blends in Australia, I often find they work best if you add a little blanched almond meal (almond flour) in addition to the gf blend. Hope that helps!
Most vegan dessert recipes I come across require absurd ingredients and don’t feel worth it. This cake however was very straight forward, used simple ingredients that are easy to find, and it came out amazing! Will definitely be making this again, it’s the perfect recipe to impress your family during the holidays 😉
Hi Kat, I’m thrilled that you loved this cake and found it really approachable! I agree with you about simple ingredients – life is too short to have useless bags of things in your pantry haha. Thank you so much for your kind feedback and I’m glad that the recipe is a keeper for you!
I made this cake and it was absolutely delicious! The only thing is some of the caramel seeped out of the pan while baking, which I’ve never experienced before. I did the tin correctly so I’m not sure why it happened. I only chilled the frozen pecan mixture for 15 minutes while I was making the batter, could that be why?
Would you have any advice to avoid caramel spilling out of the tin?
Excited to make it again. Thank you so much!
Hi Alex, I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake! Did you use a springform or loose bottom cake pan and did your caramel spill out of the bottom? If you used one of those pans, the caramel will usually spill out unless you line the whole pan (bottom and sides) with one sheet of parchment paper.
Or did you use a regular cake pan and the caramel spilled out of the top? It’s normal for some caramel to rise the sides of the cake pan but it usually doesn’t spill over. A few things can help prevent this: using a taller cake pan, freezing the pecan mixture for longer (as you mentioned), and when adding the batter, dolloping it around the edges first helps keep the topping in the middle of the pan, rather than the sides (where it can rise up and overflow). Hope that helps!
This was fantastic and super easy. I’m not baker but it came out exactly like the picture and tasted even better. LOL. Very big thumbs up.
Hi Glenda, that’s amazing to hear and I’m thrilled you found the recipe approachable!! Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback ❤️
Have you ever adapted this to be gluten free, please
We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour but usually King Arthur’s measure for measure flour works well with the recipes. Hope that helps and we’d love to hear how you go if you try it!
Yummy, decadent, rich and extremly easy to make comfort cake. Perfect for the wintery season together with my favourite pumpkin spiced latte while watching the rain thru the window warmly wrapped in a cozy blanket on the couch!
We’re so happy to hear you loved the cake! This sounds so cozy and such a perfect way to spend the afternoon 🙌 Thank you for leaving a comment 🥰
Can gluten free flour be used in this awesome cake?? Would like to make for Thanksgiving, but the hostess is gluten free.
Hi Deborah, I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour but most of my recipes work well with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour. Hope that helps!
Can I use King Arthur gluten free flour?
I haven’t tested it but it usually works for my recipes!
Will Almond flour work?
It won’t by itself unfortunately. It may work if you combine it with all-purpose gluten free flour but I haven’t tested it.