Caramelised pear upside down cake

Upside down pear cake by Holly Taylor of Kindling Restaurant, Brighton

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Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving

Calories 534 Calories from Fat 279

% Daily Value*

Fat 31g48%

Saturated Fat 14g88%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 6g

Cholesterol 136mg45%

Sodium 195mg8%

Potassium 177mg5%

Carbohydrates 62g21%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 44g49%

Protein 7g14%

Vitamin A 757IU15%

Vitamin C 2mg2%

Calcium 118mg12%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Making the most of seasonal produce.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 10

Total Time1 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings:

Calories: 534kcal

Author: Holly Taylor

Equipment

20cm cake tin
melon baller
heavy bottom pan
Stand mixer or electric whisk

Ingredients

For the pears

2 large pears
150 g caster sugar
30 ml water (2 tbsp)

For the cake

250 g butter softened
250 g caster sugar
½ tsp almond extract
2 tbsp poppy seeds optional
5 small eggs (or 4 very large eggs) room temp
150 g gluten-free self-raising flour or normal wheat-based self-raising flour
150 g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
30 g whole milk

Method

Preheat your oven to 160C / Gas Mark 3 and line an 8inch / 20cm round cake tin with baking parchment.
Peel the pears to remove the skin, then cut them in half and remove the core with a melon baller. Slice each half of pear lengthways into four equally sized pieces, being sure to trim off any pieces of stalk or other less edible parts.
Arrange your pear slices in a neatly fanned circle in the bottom of your cake tin. Depending on the size of your pears you might end up with a few slices left over for snacking.
Next make your caramel by placing the sugar and water in a heavy bottomed pan on a medium heat. As you heat the pan the sugar should dissolve into the water and the syrup should start to boil. You want to boil the syrup until it turns a nice deep caramel colour. You can swirl the pan during the cooking but don’t stir it as this increases the chances of the sugar crystallising.
As soon as your caramel is the right colour, drizzle it as evenly as possible over your pear slices, then set aside while you prepare the cake mixture.
First, cream together your butter and sugar using a stand mixer or electric whisk.
When the mixture is pale and fluffy add in the poppy seeds and almond extract, then beat in your eggs one at a time.
Sift together your self-raising flour, ground almonds and baking powder. Fold these dry ingredients into the butter and egg mixture. Once everything is well incorporated stir in the milk.
Spoon the cake mixture on top of the pears and carefully level it off with a spatula. If you make a gentle indent in the middle of the cake mixture it will compensate for the rise. This helps make the top of your cake flat when it’s baked, making it a better shape when you turn it upside down.
Bake the cake in your preheated oven for 1 hour – 1 hour 10 mins until an inserted skewer comes out clean. If you’re using a sprung form cake tin, I recommend baking the cake with an oven tray on the shelf underneath to catch any oozing caramel or escaping fruit juice.
Once your cake is baked, leave it in the tin until it’s cool to touch, then turn out upside down onto a plate or serving dish to reveal the sticky golden caramelised pears.

Notes

Adapting the cake to the seasons

One of the reasons I love this cake is that there are so many different variations. It’s a wonderful vehicle to showcase whatever fruit is in season.

In the autumn it works well with both apples and pears. It will work especially well if you choose a variety that is firm and a little bit tart, for example, a Braeburn apple.

In the winter I recommend trying it with 2-3 thinly sliced oranges or blood orange. Instead of making a caramel sauce, you want to cook the orange slices in sugar syrup for 15 mins until the rinds are beginning to turn translucent - Put 200g sugar and 120ml water in a large saucepan set over a medium heat; stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the orange slices (minus any seeds) and bring to a gentle simmer. Then layer the syrupy oranges in the cake tin instead of the pears.

In spring try using sticks of bright pink forced rhubarb as the base. No need for caramel; just sprinkle the bottom of the cake pan with 30g of sugar and 15g of butter, then arrange the rhubarb before topping with the cake mix.

In summer this cake is fabulous topped with berries – blueberries and blackberries both work well and don’t require any caramel or added sugar. You’ll need about 400-500g of berries, and it’s best to gently squash them into the bottom of the cake tin using a potato masher, so everything cooks evenly.

For a Halloween twist, you can use summer berry mix as the topping and add red food dye to the cake for a gruesome-looking centrepiece.

Whatever the season or occasion this cake is a winner and sure to be a firm favourite with family and guests.

Nutrition