This Pear Upside Down Cake has a brown sugar caramel, layers of pears and a tender, cardamom spiced cake! A must-make this Winter, this easy dessert flips out of its pan to yield a beautiful, warming dessert.
Prepare the pears by peeling them and slicing them into quarters long ways. Slice out the core and slice crossways about ¼ inch thick, so you can fan them. Set aside.
Make the Topping:
Spray a 9 inch round pan with cooking spray and then line with parchment. Set aside, and preheat the oven to 325°F convection (with the fan) or 350°F conventional (no fan).
Make the caramel, which will be your first layer in the pan. To do this, melt butter in a small sauce pot. Add lemon juice, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Cook until boiling and sugar has dissolved and caramelized. It will be a medium amber color. The color of leaves in Fall. Pour in the prepared pan and spread out.
Arrange pear slices on top artfully. Or don’t! The cake will be just as delicious with the pears scattered willy-nilly.
Make the cake:
In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down between each addition. Add the vanilla with the last egg.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternately add the flour mixture with the buttermilk.
Pour into the prepared pan on top of pears and then spread out with an offset spatula.
Bake in a preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until puffed, golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick comes out with a few clinging crumbs in the center.
Release the cake from the sides of the pan while still warm by running a butter knife or offset spatula around the edges. After 15 minutes, flip the cake out onto a rimmed baking sheet or wire rack. The caramel will continue to drip, so make sure you have something to catch it!
Video
Notes
Makes: 9 x 9 inch roundPresentation - A sharp serrated knife will slice right through the oddly shaped pear pieces for a clean slice.Technique - I like to do the last few folds with a spatula to make sure I don’t overmix the batter, and I even fold in the spare pears that didn’t arrange nicely in the cake pan.Storage - Cool, wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days, refrigerated for a week or frozen for several months.