Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread
One 10” Cake
Topping:
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
Dash fine sea salt
6-8 small ripe pears
Optional – a few fresh cranberries as garnish
Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
8 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla paste
Zest of one lemon
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2) Prep a 10” cake pan (I use a springform pan) by greasing the pan and then lining the bottom and sides with a circle of parchment paper.
3) In a medium sauté pan, melt the 6 Tbsp of butter and 2/3 cup dark brown sugar until the sugar has melted and incorporated with the butter. Whisk in a dash of fine sea salt and pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Tilt the pan until the entire bottom is evenly coated.
4) Cut the pears in half, trim off the stem, scoop out the core and place the halves decoratively face-down into the pan. Try to fill the entire pan with pears, leaving a small gap between each half.
5) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, fine sea salt and spices.
6) In a standing mixer, cream together the butter and dark brown sugar. Add in the lemon zest, molasses and vanilla and mix to combine (scraping the bowl as often as necessary). Add the eggs, one at a time. Alternately, add the dry mix and the buttermilk. Remove the bowl from the stand, give a final fold with a spatula, and evenly pour the batter over the pears.
7) Bake the cake on the middle rack for 45-50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Let the cake cool for five minutes and then invert onto your serving plate and remove the pan and parchment paper. If desired, decorate with the few fresh cranberries.
