Each family has their own Thanksgiving guilty pleasure.  For my family, it’s Marie Callendar’s pie; boysenberry and pumpkin to be exact.  Don’t judge…it’s a thing!  Really, it’s my dad’s request.  A little something passed down from my grandma (may she rest in peace) whose time in the kitchen was limited to hitting the start button on the microwave, usually to heat up her tea.

This year, I say it’s time for a pie intervention and luckily I have some help.  Jackie Sappington, co-owner and Executive Pastry Chef of The Country Cat Dinnerhouse & Bar, offered up a recipe for her Pumpkin Upsidedown Cake.  Sounds tough, but in reality, not so much!

It’s a recipe that’d be great for anyone looking to put a twist on the classic Thanksgiving staple – Pumpkin Pie.  It only takes about an hour from start to finish, so there’s still time!  If you’d like a step-by-step run down on how to make this cake, tune in to KOIN Channel 6 today at 4:15p.m. and watch Jackie demo it live on air.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Country Cat’s Pumpkin Upsidedown Cake by Jackie Sappington

You’ll need:

• 10-inch cake
• 2-3 medium ripe pears, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/8’s
• 3 TBS unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 3 TBS. rum
• 1 ¼ cups + 1T All-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¾ tsp grated nutmeg
• ¾ cup pumpkin puree
• 6 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 3 eggs

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Over low to medium to heat, place cake pan over heat.  Add the 3 Tablespoons of butter and brown sugar.  Gently stir and and incorporate butter and sugar to make a caramel.  Remove from heat and add pears in concentric circles in the pan.  Set aside.
• Soak the raisins in the rum and set aside.  Mix together the dry ingredients and set aside.
• Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Scrape down the sides and add the eggs one at a time. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and pumpkin puree  to butter mixture.  Add dry ingredients in 2 batches.  Add the rum from the plumped raisins.  Stir in the raisins.
• Spread batter over pears evenly, making sure they are all covered.
• Place in the middle of the oven and bake 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the middle of the cake.
• When cake is done, let sit for 5 minutes.  Place a serving platter or large plate over the cake and gently flip over the pan. Tap the cake pan to help the fruit release from the pan.  Gently lift the pan off the cake.  If any fruit is still stuck to the pan just place it on top of the cake.
• Serve with vanilla whipped cream.

Enjoy!

One of the many perks of working in restaurant industry is getting cooking advice and recipes from the chefs themselves.

Last Sunday, while I was savoring my WT (biscuits dressed in sausage gravy and two fried eggs with potatoes) at The Country Cat with a friend, I casually mentioned my afternoon undertaking (baking a cherry pie) to Jackie Sappington, pastry chef and co-owner of The Cat.  ”You want my recipe?” she asked, to which I smiled and proclaimed, “YES!”  My master plan worked…

Now, those who know me know that baking is not really my thing – I’m more of a spontaneous cook.  In other words, I do not use measuring cups very often.  Yikes, I know.  So in this case, I need to give much credit to my roommate Ellie – baking master – whose careful measurements and dough rolling skills made our cherry pie even more delicious.

Photos below.  Jackie’s recipe soon to follow…