Pear Upside Down Cake

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It’s Easter weekend, which in our house means lots of Church, lots of chocolate, lots of family, and lots of silly fun! Though you wouldn’t know it was spring by looking out the window this morning; it’s still a frigid winter wonderland out there!

One of my favourite memories from Easter is when my little sister Barefootlouboutins was a wee little girl. We took her to the local museum which was putting on an Alice in Wonderland egg search. The Queen of hearts was running around screaming “off with your head!” and she was just mesmerized. The next year they did a Clue game theme and my brother and I split up and worked separately so that she solved the mystery first and won the prize.

Last year my Granny passed away just before Easter. Her funeral had to be delayed because of Holy Week. But the church was so beautifully decorated with all the flowers from Easter Sunday; she would have loved it.

Since last year was so somber, we want this year to be extra special. I have lots of baking planned and a lovely dinner–and will be serving it all on my finest China. My little cousin will be with us and it will be Baby J’s first real experience with the Easter Bunny, so you can imagine all the fun we will have painting eggs and searching for chocolates.

I will do a few posts of my baking adventures from this weekend, but today I want to share a really nice cake I made. The pear topping is to die for, and it would be a great accompaniment to an afternoon tea and coffee. It’s both pretty and delicious and the fruitiness makes it perfect for spring. I found the recipe from Livingwellspendingless.com but it has an error where the butter is concerned, so I’ve written it here how I adjusted!

 

Pear Upside Down Cake

From Livingwellspendingless.com

 

Pear Topping

4-10 tbsp unsalted butter, plus a little more for the pan (I will explain the reason for this range below!)

0.5 cup packed brown sugar

0.25 tsp cinnamon

0.25 tsp nutmeg

3 ripe yet firm pears, thinly sliced but not so thin they are transparent

 

Cake

1 cup granulated sugar

6 tbsp room temperature unsalted butter

2 room temperature eggs

1 cup flour

3 tbsp cornmeal

1 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp salt

0.5 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

one: preheat the oven to 350 F and butter the sides of a 9″ cake pan.

two: make the pear topping: The original recipe didn’t specify how much butter is needed for the cake, so I made the topping using all 10 tbsp. But I did a little digging and I think they meant to use 4 tbsp for the topping and 6 tbsp for the cake. I can tell you that using 10 tbsp for the topping alone was beyond delicious, it tasted insanity good! So with that said, bring the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a boil in a small pot then pour it evenly into the bottom of the cake pan. Arrange the pears on top of this layer and gently press them down into it.

three: make the cake: Beat the butter and sugar until creamy then add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt and beat for just 10 seconds to combine. Add the milk and beat just until the batter is evenly moistened, about 1 minute.

four: bake: Carefully pour the batter over the pears, then drop the pan onto the counter a couple times to release any air bubbles. Bake until a knife comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen, place your serving dish upside down onto the cake then flip it over–it should slide right out with the delicious pear layer now on top! Let it cool before digging in.

We are actually heading back to Comic Con again in a few weeksand I will give you a hint about our family costume: this “upside down” cake is very appropriate…Tell me your guess in the comments!

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Ralph Lauren Grey Paisley Table Runner:  This was from my wedding registry 5 years ago and purchased at Hudson’s Bay.  I can’t find it anywhere for sale online, but try eBay.

Cru by Darbie Angell Lauderdale Collection Saucer: Cru Dinnerware and Bed Bath and Beyond

Camera: Olympus O-MD E-M10 Mark II with 14-42mm IIR lens