Caramelized Pear Upside-Down Cake

By west757

The cake is delicious served warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

• For the topping
• 2 medium firm-ripe Bosc pears (about 1 lb.)
• Caramel Sauce
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• For the cake
• 6-3/4 oz. (1-1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1-3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 4 oz. (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from finecooking.com

Preparation

Step 1

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x2-inch round cake pan (don't use a spring form pan, as the caramel might leak out during baking). Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment and butter the top of the paper.

Make the topping:
Peel, core, and cut the pears lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the pear slices on the bottom of the pan in a circle around the edge, overlapping them slightly, with the pointed ends towards the center. If necessary, cut a little off the pointed ends to make the slices fit better. Or if the pear slices don't reach all the way to the middle, arrange a few of the shorter slices in the center to cover the bottom of the pan.

Make the Caramel:
Mix the water and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a medium brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Watch it carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Stand back to avoid splattering, and gradually add the cream and the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean (or vanilla extract). Simmer until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Serve warm, or add another 1/4 cup of heavy cream and serve room temperature.

Carefully pour the hot caramel evenly over the pears (it should spread over the pears and onto the bottom of the pan).

Make the cake batter:
Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt into a medium bowl. Stir to combine. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vanilla.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.Turn the mixer to medium and slowly add the brown sugar. Increase the speed to high and continue to mix until lightened in texture and color, 2 to 3 minutes total. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Reduce the speed to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and milk mixture in five additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix each addition just enough to incorporate, as over mixing will lead to a tougher cake. Scrape down the sides of the bowl one last time and mix briefly to blend well.
Bake the cake

Spoon the batter in large dollops over the pears and smooth it into an even layer with an offset spatula. Bake the cake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Turn a cake plate upside down on top of the cake pan and, using pot holders, carefully invert the cake pan onto the plate.