Spiced pear upside down cake is a refreshing alternative to pumpkin pie this holiday season. Warm fall spices take ordinary pears to the next level in this beautiful dessert.
I love pumpkin spice and the smell of apples and cinnamon together. These flavors are what obviously comes to mind when trying to think up a Thanksgiving dessert.
But aren't we forgetting something? There are some gorgeous pears out there right now. So, while I'm not quite ready for my peppermint, I'm saying goodbye to my pumpkins.
Hello pears and warm fall spices... clove, cinnamon, cardamom...
It's a bit last minute, but if like me, all you have in your fridge are pears, then try this recipe out. Upside down cakes are not as hard as they look. It takes a little bit of time to carefully arrange your pears at the bottom so they end up looking as beautiful as the top of your cake.
Tips for making pear upside down cake:
- Be sure to grease your pan well so you get a nice clean release. That will keep that pretty pear pattern looking perfect.
- Also, don't use a spring form pan. It might make perfect sense at first but, I've had the caramel sauce leak out and make a mess in my oven.
- Let the cake cool and use a plastic knife to run around between the edge of the pan and the cake. Place your platter over the pan and carefully turn it over. A little patience when jiggling the cake out of the pan should leave you with a show stopper.
Variations for making this upside down pear cake
- Sprinkle the top with chopped toasted walnuts or almonds
- I didn't use any ginger but you can use any combination of spices you would like on the pears. A chai spice mixture would also work well.
This is an easy to make yet impressive cake that you can serve to your guests or take to your next potluck!
Not quite ready to make this upside down pear cake recipe? PIN it now and SAVE it for later.
Spiced Pear Upside Down Cake
Spiced pear upside down cake is a refreshing alternative to pumpkin pie this holiday season. Warm fall spices take ordinary pears to the next level in this beautiful dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, divided
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar plus 1 Tbs
- 2-3 ripe pears
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove, divided
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 inch round pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment. Grease it with butter again.
- In a small saucepan combine ¼ cup unsalted butter with ½ cup brown sugar. Mix on low heat until the butter and sugar are melted. Pour it into your cake pan and evenly cover the bottom.
- Peel, core and thinly slice your pears. Sprinkle them with 1 Tbs sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon cardamom, ⅛ teaspoon clove. Toss to evenly coat.
- Arrange them over your sauce in the cake pan in a nice fanned out design. Remember the arrangement will show as the top so be neat!
- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and remaining spices in a large bowl.
- In an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla. On low speed alternate adding the dry ingredients with the milk in two batches. Beat on medium for 2 minutes.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Bake the cake at 350°F until the a tester comes out clean, about 60-70 minutes.
- As soon as the pan is cool enough to touch, place a plate over the cake and invert the cake onto the plate. Gently shake the pan to release and carefully remove the parchment paper if it sticks. Serve with ice cream if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 413Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 448mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 3gSugar: 21gProtein: 5g
This nutrition information is only an approximate provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. Information comes from Nutritionix, an automated nutrition calculator.
Baker Street says
I love that shot of pears! the idea of baked spiced pears sounds divine. The cake looks so delicious!
Paula says
Hello spiced pears is right! What a fabulous looking cake. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Kathy Mercure says
Yum! I have bookmarked this page to try this delicious cake, and will be back to check out your site. Thanks for sharing.
Halley says
I'm going to try this today — I'm not sure my pears are ripe enough, but I'm impatient so here we go!
Daniela says
Petit Avatar - Thank you very much for your wonderful msegase and wish you the same. * * . . * * We Wish You a Merry * * . . * * Christmas We Wish You A Merry * * . . * * Christmas * * . . * * ...And A Happy New Year! * * . ۰ ۰ ۰ ۰ ۰ ۰ ۰ ۰ ۰ ۰ ۰ ۰