Ripe Pear Upside Down Cake Recipes

ORANGE AND PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place butter in a 10-in. cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet; place pan in oven until butter is melted, 3-5 minutes. Carefully tilt pan to coat bottom and sides with butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar and 1 tablespoon orange zest. Arrange pears in a single layer over sugar., In a large bowl, beat sugar, coconut oil, egg and remaining 1 tablespoon orange zest until well blended. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into sugar mixture alternately with cream., Spoon over pears. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm.

HONEY-GLAZED PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9-inch ovenproof skillet (not nonstick), simmer honey until it begins to reduce, caramelize and darken in color, 6 to 10 minutes. Do not let honey burn; if it starts to smell burned, turn off heat.
• Arrange pears, close together and cut-side up, in a circular pattern in skillet, stem ends pointing toward center. Simmer over medium heat, turning them from one cut side to the other, until they begin to turn golden, about 10 minutes.
• Flip pears over to cut-side down and scatter with thyme sprigs if using. Transfer skillet to oven and roast, uncovered, until very tender, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together sugar and lemon zest. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Fold in flour and salt; stir in 1/2 cup butter.
• When pears are soft, remove skillet from oven, discard thyme sprigs and brush edges of pears with remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter. Pour batter on roasted pears and scatter almonds over batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cake cool for 30 minutes in pan. Run an offset spatula along edges of pan to loosen cake; carefully invert cake onto a serving platter. Serve warm or cooled.

CLASSIC PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and 3/4 cup butter; beat at low speed until crumbly. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well at medium speed after each addition. Add vanilla; beat well. Add flour, cornmeal and baking powder; mix well.
• Place 1/4 cup butter in 9-inch round cake pan. Heat in oven for about 4 minutes or until butter is melted. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Arrange pear slices over mixture in pan, slightly overlapping. Spoon and carefully spread cake batter over pears.
• Bake at 350°F. for 55 to 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream.

PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Make the topping: Melt butter in the bottom of a 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet over low heat. Add brown sugar, stirring until dissolved. Swirl to coat the bottom; remove from heat, and cool. Cut pears into 1/4-inch-thick wedges, and arrange them in a circular pattern over the brown-sugar mixture to cover completely; set aside.
• Make the batter: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract; beat to combine. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine.
• Alternating with the milk, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and mix, on low speed, just until the flour is incorporated.
• In a large bowl, beat reserved egg whites and the cream of tartar with a hand mixer until stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into the batter. Transfer to skillet. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter evenly, being careful not to disturb the pears.
• Bake until well browned on top and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan, and immediately invert the cake onto a serving dish. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Butter a 9-inch cake pan with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside. Toss pears with lemon juice; set aside.
• In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Add pears, cut side down, in a single layer. Cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and brown the other side. Transfer to a plate.
• To the same saute pan, add the Poire William, and sprinkle with the rest of the granulated sugar. Cook until reduced to a syrup, about 1 minute. Pour into cake pan, coating the bottom. Place pears in pan, cut side down, arranging in a single layer (there may be a few leftover slices).
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the remaining 8 tablespoons butter until fluffy. Add brown sugar, and beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Add eggs, and continue beating to combine. Add molasses and fresh ginger. Gradually add flour mixture. In a small bowl, combine the baking soda and boiling water, beating with a fork. Add to the batter, and mix well.
• Pour batter into cake pan over the pears. Bake for 25 minutes. Lower heat to 325 degrees, and bake an additional 15 minutes, until cake springs back when touched in the center. Remove from oven. Cool for 1 hour, then invert onto serving plate. Serve with rum-raisin ice cream or rum-spiked whipped cream.

UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR CARDAMOM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Make caramelized pears:
• Peel pears, then halve lengthwise and core. Spread sugar on a plate, then press cut sides of pear halves into sugar to coat, reserving remaining sugar.
• Melt butter in a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Reduce heat to low and arrange pears, cut sides down, decoratively in skillet. Sprinkle reserved sugar all around pears. Cook pears over moderately low heat until sugar begins to caramelize, about 15 minutes, and remove skillet from heat.
• Make cake batter:
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and beat well. Add flour mixture and milk alternately in 3 batches, mixing at low speed after each addition until just combined.
• Spoon batter over pears in skillet, gently spreading evenly and being careful not to disturb pears (batter will not cover tops of all pears). Bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool cake in skillet on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge and invert a plate over skillet. Invert cake onto plate (wearing oven mitts), keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together. Replace any fruit stuck to bottom of skillet if necessary.
• Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

SPICED PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Pour melted butter into a 9-in. square baking pan; sprinkle with nuts and brown sugar. Arrange pears over nuts., In a large bowl, cream softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition., Spread batter over pears. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm with ice cream if desired.