Maple-Pecan Pear Upside Down Cake

By Hklbrries

"To dessert lovers, a good cake has no downside. Unless, of course, it happens to be an upside-down cake.

These minor miracles of topsy-turviness start with a layer of fruit (most often canned pineapple) in a sweet, syrupy, buttery glaze in the bottom of a heavy pan or skillet. Over this, a good cake batter is poured. After baking, in a culinary sleight of hand, the whole shebang is reversed out onto a serving plate, the fruit underneath now a gloriously attractive and gooey topping.

Most of us think of upside-down cake as old-fashioned, but it goes back only to the early 20th century. No one knows for sure how and when it originated, but a 1924 Seattle fund-raising cookbook seems to mark its first published appearance. This was followed by a version in a 1925 Gold Medal flour ad, another in a 1931 goverment pamphlet and finally one in a 1936 Sears Roebuck catalog. Thus, it became a fixed star in the firmament of American home baking.

Upside-down technique existed prior to this in an apocryphal French apple pie, created in 1889 by two sisters, Stephanie and Caroline Tatin, innkeepers in the Loire Valley. During the busy hunting season, one sister left a pan of apples and sugar on the stove cooking a bit too long. Instead of merely softening, the sugar caramelized and the apples braised in this caramel. With no time to think, Stephanie cleverly popped a pastry crust on it, baked the whole thing, turned it out and served it.

With fresh pears, dried cherries, pecans and maple syrup, this ultra-moist, rich upside-down cake may well be the best you've ever had. Some serve it with ice cream or whipped cream, but this really isn't needed. A glass of cold milk, however, is a welcome accompaniment. The cake is especially delicious when still slightly warm."

Crescent Dragonwagon

Ingredients

• Topping:
• 1/2 cup apple, cherry or cranberry juice
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 red D'anjou pear, barely ripe, sliced
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• Cake:
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from relishmag.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 F.

To prepare the topping, pour juice into a small saucepan and bring to a boil; add dried cherries. Set aside.

Melt butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or 9-inch metal pie pan over medium heat. Turn off heat. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter, patting it down with your fingers. Pour maple syrup over brown sugar mixture - do not stir.

Drain cherries, reserving both juice and cherries. Arrange pear slices, cherries and pecans over sugar mixture in skillet.

To prepare the cake, sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. In another bowl, beat butter with a mixer until smooth. Gradually add granulated sugar and continue beating until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Beat in vanilla and egg.

Pour reserved cherry-soaking liquid into a measuring cup, and add buttermilk to equal 2/3 cup.

Alternately add 1/3 of flour mixture and 1/3 of buttermilk mixture, beating gently in between. Repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk mixtures. Do not overbeat.

Drop batter gently, by spoonfuls, over prepared fruit and topping, spreading lightly.

Bake about 45 minutes or until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Immediately run a knife around the inside edge of the skillet. Let cake cool 5 to 10 minutes, then place a flat serving plate larger than the skillet on top of it. Invert, allowing the skillet to rest a few minutes for the topping to settle. Gently remove the skillet. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition Information:
Per serving
390 calories
12 g fat
5 g protein
68 g carbohydrates
2 g fiber
280 mg sodium