BAKE: Coriander & Brown Sugar Pear Upside-down Cake
This classic pear upside-down cake recipe, redolent with warm spice and melted brown sugar, is a perfect way to use the first ripe fruits of autumn. As it bakes it will fill your house with the cozy aroma of sweet caramel and baked pears.
It comes together quickly and unmolds into a sophisticated looking dessert or decadent breakfast. Whether you serve this as a moist coffeecake for a festive fall brunch or an effortlessly elegant finish to a meal, perhaps paired with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream… you and your family will love this rich pear upside-down cake.
No fussy cooked caramel sauce to deal with here- the brown sugar bakes into the fruit and forms a lovely caramelized layer on the bottom of the pan in the oven. After it bakes, let the cake cool until it is safe to handle, release the springform pan, flip, and unmold it to reveal the starburst pattern of the pear slices in the bottom of the tart.
Coriander Brown Sugar Pear Upside-down Cake
Equipment
- 1 springform pan
Ingredients
- 4-6 medium ripe pears
- ½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup softened butter (one stick) 4 oz (plus additional tablespoon to butter the pan)
- 2 tsp ground coriander
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 ½ tsp baking powder sifted
- 1 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1⅓ cup whole milk
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tbsp canola oil, melted butter or coconut oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Generously butter a 12" springform pan, and sprinkle the half cup of brown sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place the springform pan on a baking sheet, or line the outside of the bottom of the pan with foil to catch any drips so they don't burn on the bottom of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 ℉.
- Peel, core, and halve the pears. Cut one of the pears into 8 slices and arrange in a star pattern in the center of the pan, and cut the rest of the pears into quarters or thirds (depending on the size) and arrange them in a second concentric ring around the center pears. You can also slice them more thinly for a more delicate and elegant cake with less defined chunks of fruit. If you like, you can sprinkle the pears lightly with cinnamon or a grating of nutmeg.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter together with the coriander. Whip until the butter is fluffy and the spice is evenly distributed.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (sift any that are lumpy through a wire sieve after measuring).
- In a large measuring cup or small mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, oil or melted butter and the vanilla.
- Add the dry and wet ingredients to the creamed butter mixture by thirds (one third of the dry ingredients, mix a few turns, one third of the wet ingredients, mix a few turns, and repeat). Don't wait for the mixture to be fully incorporated between additions, just alternate so that there aren't clumps and the batter forms a nice emulsion. Mix just enough to combine all ingredients into a uniform batter.
- Pour the cake batter over the prepared pears in the pan and place the sheet tray into the preheated oven.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden and a skewer or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan gently from the oven and let cool for at least 20-25 minutes in the pan.
- Gently unlock the pan and remove the ring, then place a serving platter over the cake and carefully invert it- be careful not to burn yourself since the hot sugar will be sticky- let it cool longer if needed before flipping the cake. If you have a thin metal flat spatula (or cheesemaking curd knife) you can run that along the bottom of the pan if the cake is sticking to free cake from the bottom of the pan after flipping it over, though it should separate easily. Slice and serve warm, or keep cool and serve within 3 days.
