Pear Upside Down Loaf Cake
Hella Pear: we got a lot of bosc and bartlett pears when we went to the farmers market this week. Pears are great because it’s like you’re biting into a crisp fruit covered in sugary sand. In savory cooking, they are great meat tenderizers, but they are obviously great for baking. I made this Pear Upside Down Cake today, and it was lovely with the whipped crème I had in the fridge.
Ingredients:
Caramel:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (optional)
Batter:
2 pears, peeled, cored, divided (1/2 sliced, 1/2 finely diced)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking power
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Steps:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (non-convection) with a pan sheet in the middle rack.
Make the caramel. In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat and add in the brown sugar. Boil until you get a dark caramel. Remove from heat and stir in the optional ginger.
In a 9” x 5” loaf pan, pour half of the caramel on the bottom, shingle the sliced pears on top of the that, and then add the other half of the caramel on top of that. Set aside while you make the batter.
In a large bowl, whisk together the AP flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar, and white sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, canola, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix with a rubber spatula only until it’s combined (do not overmix). At this point, gently fold in the diced pears.
Pour the batter on top of the caramel/pears in the loaf pan. I gently tap the entire pan on kitchen counter to get rid of any air pockets. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until a cake tester (skewer, knife, etc.) comes out slightly clean. Remove and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
Flip the cake onto your serving dish so that the pear and caramel is on the top. Slice as you wish and pair it with whipped créme fraîche or vanilla ice cream.
