Description
This cake is a great way to use up any pears that are a bit past their prime. It’s amazing warm from the oven with a generous helping of whipped cream.
From Erica Kastner of Buttered Side Up.
Ingredients
- FOR THE PEAR TOPPING:
- ⅓ cups Maple Sugar (or Rapadura, Sucanat, Brown Sugar, Etc.)
- 3 Tablespoons Salted Butter, Melted
- 2 Ripe Pears, Peeled, Cored, And Sliced
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 6 Tablespoons Salted Butter, Softened
- ¾ cups Maple Sugar Or Sweetener Of Choice
- 2 Large Eggs, Separated
- 2 Tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Plus 2 Tablespoons Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoons Ground Ginger
- ¼ teaspoons Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoons Ground Cloves
- ¼ cups Whole Milk
- ¼ teaspoons Cream Of Tartar
- Whipped Cream, Ice Cream, Or Vanilla Custard For Serving (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Set aside.
For the topping, in a small bowl, combine the melted butter and maple sugar. Spread this in the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Arrange the pear slices on top of the butter/sugar mixture.
For the cake, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and maple sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the milk and beat again. Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and beat.
In a clean, medium-sized bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Gently and gradually fold into the cake batter in a few additions. Spread the batter over the pears in the pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 40–50 minutes, or until the cake is golden-brown and it springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.
Invert onto a serving plate or cake stand. Serve warm with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or custard.
Adapted from my Rhubarb Upside Down Cake recipe, which was adapted from Taste of Home.
