The Pear Upside-Down Cake is filled with sweet, ripe pears and the warmth of cardamom for a perfectly moist and tender crumb topped with sliced pears and the perfect brown sugar caramel.
Make This Recipe Because…
Upside Down cakes are some of the easiest and most beautiful baked desserts. The foolproof caramel and fruit toppings are made right in the cake pan as the cake bakes.
This pear upside-down cake features a topping of beautiful caramelized pear slices over a very tender cardamom, pear cake.
A reverse cream method that cuts the butter into the dry ingredient creates a uniform crumb texture.
The overripe pears make the cake extra moist and flavorful.
Ingredients
Pears- Choosing pears for your cake is key. I used Bartlett pears for my recipe. I like this variety because it gets very soft when ripe and integrates well into the batter. They also have a thin skin that can remain on for the pear topping.
Anjou varieties can be used as well. Anjou pears also have thin skin and a very soft flesh when ripe.
Bosc Pears are often used in other types of baking, but I would caution against using them in this recipe as their flesh tends to be firmer and has less water. Their skin is also thicker and tougher. If you do use bosc pears, be sure to remove all of the skin.
Cardamom: Dried pods are a common way to get cardamom. These pods need to be opened to get the spice from the center. The cardamom seeds can be ground in a spice mill and this recipe requires about 10-12 pods to get half of a teaspoon.
Ground Cardamom can be used as well. It is less potent and I recommend using 1 whole teaspoon instead of a half of a teaspoon.
How to Make Pear Upside-Down Cake
Step 1
- Start your cake batter by preparing your cardamom. Open the pods and remove the seeds. Then, grind seeds in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle.
- Next, place flour, sugar, cold butter, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cardamom into a large bowl or mixer.
Step 2
- Mix dry ingredients plus butter on a slow speed with the paddle attachment until the butter is fully cut into the dry ingredients and forms a loose sand-like texture.
Step 3
- Peel ripe pears and remove the core. Place the ripe pear flesh into a medium bowl and mash with a fork.
Step 4
- Add milk, eggs, and vanilla to the smashed pear and mix together.
Step 5
- Then slowly add the mixed wet ingredients to the dry ingredients while mixing at a low speed. Once the wet ingredients are added, increase the mixer to medium speed for 10-15 seconds until the batter is well combined.
Step 6
- In a 12 inch cast iron skillet, melt butter on medium heat.
- Once the butter melts, add brown sugar and stir in until the butter and brown sugar are combined and just starting to simmer. The caramel mixture should coat the bottom of the pan.
- Turn off the heat and lay thinly sliced pears around the pan in a circular pattern.
Step 7
- Spoon cake batter into the skillet and use a spatula to spread the batter to the outer edges.
- Bake cake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cake. The toothpick should come away from the cake clean.
- Remove the baked cake from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes in the pan.
- Run a knife around the edges of the cake pan to make sure the cake is loose before turning.
- Then invert the by resting cake plate by resting the cake plate on top of the skillet and carefully flipping the skillet and cake plate together to turn your upside-down Cake right-side up to reveal the caramel and pear design on the top of the cake.
- Serve alone or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delicious winter dessert.
Diana's Helpful Hints
Take your eggs out of the refrigerator about 15-30 minutes prior to baking to let them reach room temperature.
Let cake cool for five minutes before inverting.
How to Slice Pears
- Start by cutting your ripe pear down the center vertically from the stem to the bottom.
- Once the pear is halved, cut each half into quarters.
- The quartered pieces will expose the core at the center of the pear. Lay the quarters on their flat side and cut diagonally through the center of the quarters to remove the core.
- Then, slice each quarter into thin, even pieces.
Related Recipe
- Simple Cinnamon Baked Pears
- Cinnamon Cream Cheese Carrot Cake
- Zuccotto Fiorentino: Chocolate Almond Cream Cake
- Banana Bread with Chopped Almonds
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📖 Recipe
Upside-Down Pear Cake with Cardamom
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Mixing Bowls
- Electric Mixer or Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Upside-Down Pear Cake
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Sugar
- ½ Cup Butter cold
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Cardamom Seeds From Pods Ground Ground Cardamom Seeds 1 Tsp
- ¾ Cup Fresh Pears peeled and smashed
- ½ Cup Milk
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Caramelized Pear Topping
- ¼ Cup Salted Butter
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Ripe Pears thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° F.
- Start your cake batter by preparing your cardamom. Open the pods and remove the seeds. Then, grind seeds in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle.
- Next, place flour, sugar, cold butter, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cardamom into a large bowl or mixer.
- Mix dry ingredients plus butter on a slow speed with the paddle attachment until the butter is fully cut into the dry ingredients and forms a loose sand-like texture.
- Peel ripe pears and remove the core. Place the ripe pear flesh into a medium bowl and mash with a fork.
- Add milk, eggs, and vanilla to the smashed pear and mix together.
- Then slowly add the mixed wet ingredients to the dry ingredients while mixing at a low speed. Once the wet ingredients are added, increase the mixer to medium speed for 10-15 seconds until the batter is well combined.
- In a 12 inch cast iron skillet, melt butter on medium heat.
- Once the butter melts, add brown sugar and stir in until the butter and brown sugar are combined and just starting to simmer. The caramel mixture should coat the bottom of the pan.
- Turn off the heat and lay thinly sliced pears around the pan in a circular pattern.
- Spoon cake batter into the skillet and use a spatula to spread the batter to the outer edges.
- Bake cake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cake. The toothpick should come away from the cake clean.
- Remove the baked cake from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes in the pan.
- Run a knife around the edges of the cake pan to make sure the cake is loose before turning.
- Then invert the by resting cake plate by resting the cake plate on top of the skillet and carefully flipping the skillet and cake plate together to turn your upside-down Cake right-side up to reveal the caramel and pear design on the top of the cake.
- Serve alone or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delicious winter dessert.
Notes
- Start by cutting your ripe pear down the center vertically from the stem to the bottom.
- Once the pear is halved, cut each half into quarters.
- The quartered pieces will expose the core at the center of the pear. Lay the quarters on their flat side and cut diagonally through the center of the quarters to remove the core.
- Then, slice each quarter into thin, even pieces.
Nutrition
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