Pear Upside-Down Cake
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats and NYT Cooking.
This follows the classic upside-down method, with fanned pear slices set over a ginger-spiked brown-sugar caramel and cinnamon folded through the batter, baking for about 5 minutes longer than the original.
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Method
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Equipment
- 23 cm round cake tin (5 cm deep, not loose-based), base-lined and greased
- small saucepan
- stand mixer or electric hand whisk
- serving plate larger than the tin
- skewer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 356 kcal |
| Protein | 3.6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 49.7 g |
| of which sugars | 31.8 g |
| of which free sugars | 26.7 g |
| Fat | 16.6 g |
| of which saturates | 10.1 g |
| Fibre | 1.9 g |
| Salt | 0.44 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 10 servings
Caramel topping
- 70 g unsalted butter, melted
- 120 g light brown soft sugar
Fruit
- 3 firm-ripe pears, peeled, cored and sliced 6 mm
- ½ tsp ground ginger
Cake
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened (about 18°C)
- 150 g caster sugar
- 2 g fine sea salt or table salt about ⅓ tsp
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1½ tsp vanilla
- 190 g cake flour (or plain flour; see note) plain flour works with a slightly firmer crumb
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 120 ml whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1
Preheat the oven. Heat the oven to 175°C (155°C fan) with a shelf in the middle, and let it heat for at least 20 minutes before baking. Starting with a fully heated oven helps the sponge rise steadily around the fruit rather than cooking unevenly.
- 2
Make the ginger caramel. Simmer the butter, brown sugar and ginger together for 2 minutes until thick, then pour into the tin. Fan the pear slices over the caramel in overlapping circles, working from the edge inward. The warming spice infuses straight into the caramel as it bakes, flavouring the fruit from underneath.
- 3
Cream the butter and sugar. Whisk the butter, caster sugar and salt together for 3-4 minutes until light, pale and fluffy, laying the groundwork for the ginger-spiced sponge above the pears. Add the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla and cinnamon. This step whips air into the fat, which the baking powder later expands in the oven.
- 4
Fold in flour and milk. On low speed, mix in the flour and baking powder in two additions, alternating with the milk, stopping as soon as the batter turns smooth. Overmixing at this point can toughen the crumb, so a gentle hand pays off.
- 5
Spoon batter over the pears. Spoon the batter over the fanned pears and spread it gently out to the edges, taking care not to disturb the pattern underneath. A careful touch here keeps the fruit arrangement intact for the finished cake.
- 6
Bake until golden. Bake for 45-50 minutes, a little longer than the classic version, until golden, springy and a skewer comes out clean from the centre. Pears release more moisture than the usual pineapple topping, so the extra time lets the sponge fully set.
- 7
Cool for exactly 10 minutes. Leave the cake in the tin for exactly 10 minutes. The ginger caramel is still runny at this stage, letting the pears release cleanly; cooling any longer lets it set and grip the fruit in place.
- 8
Turn out and serve. Run a knife around the edge, set a serving plate larger than the tin on top, and turn the cake over in one confident movement. Lift away the tin, press back any pear slices that have stuck, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Storage
Keep covered at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in the fridge for up to 3 days. Wrapped slices freeze for up to 2 months; thaw at room temperature and warm gently until just heated through before serving.
