Pear Upside Down Cake
There’s something almost magical about an upside down cake. The fruit begins to fuse into the cake as it bakes, but the flavors are kept gloriously distinct as well.
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Ingredients:
| for the pear topping: | |
| 1/3 cup | maple sugar (or rapadura, sucanat, brown sugar, etc.) |
| 3 tablespoons | salted butter, melted |
| 2 | ripe pears, peeled, cored, and sliced |
| for the cake: | |
| 6 tablespoons | salted butter, softened |
| 3/4 cup | maple sugar or sweetener of choice |
| 2 | large eggs, separated |
| 2 tablespoons | pure vanilla extract |
| 1 cup | plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour |
| 1 1/2 teaspoon | 1-1/2 baking powder |
| 1/2 teaspoon | salt |
| 1 teaspoon | ground cinnamon |
| 1/2 teaspoon | ground ginger |
| 1/4 teaspoon | freshly grated nutmeg |
| 1/8 teaspoon | ground cloves |
| 1/4 cup | whole milk |
| 1/4 teaspoon | cream of tartar |
| whipped cream, ice cream, or vanilla custard for serving (optional) |
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Set aside.
For the topping, in a small bowl, combine the melted butter and maple sugar. Spread this in the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Arrange the pear slices on top of the butter/sugar mixture.
For the cake, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and maple sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the milk and beat again. Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and beat.
In a clean, medium-sized bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Gently and gradually fold into the cake batter in a few additions. Spread the batter over the pears in the pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 40–50 minutes, or until the cake is golden-brown and it springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.
Invert onto a serving plate or cake stand. Serve warm with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or custard.
Adapted from my Rhubarb Upside Down Cake recipe, which was adapted from Taste of Home.
Source: thepioneerwoman.com
