Maple Upside-Down Cake with Pecans and Bacon

Maple and bacon come together in this old-fashioned upside-down cake. Decadent and delicious on a cold wintery night.

Cake:
1¾ cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
¾ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosker salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¾ cup whole milk

Topping:
6 slices maple-smoked bacon
2 Tbsp. reserved bacon fat
¾ cup butter
1½ cups pecans, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup real maple syrup
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven.

In a 12" skillet, cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Tear bacon into pieces; set aside. Reserve 2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a 13x9" pan, in the oven. Remove when melted.

Cook pecans in reserved bacon drippings over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until light brown. Add brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla to pecans, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture over butter in pan.

For the Cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream the sugar and butter together with a hand mixer until light and fluffly, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and beat until combined.

Add half of the dry ingredients to wet ingredients, beating until just combined. Pour in milk and mix until fully incorporated. Add remaining dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Pour cake batter over the maple and pecan mixture, smooth with a spatula.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes; run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Place heatproof serving plate upside down on pan; turn plate and pan over. Let pan remain over cake 1 minute so pecan mixture can drizzle over cake. Remove pan; sprinkle cake with bacon. Serve warm.