Pear Upside-Down Cake & Chai-Spiced Honey
Delightfully sweet, refreshingly crisp, & underutilized compared to their Pome fruit cousin the apple - pears deserve to have their moment! Mixing them with salted caramel for an upside down cake, brings out their natural subtle flavor and pairs them with the perfect autumn spices and honey.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 to 3 Forelle or Anjou pears sliced thin or on mandoline
- 1 cup of caramel sauce (Coop’s salted caramel is delicious)
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon groundginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
Honey
- ½ cup local Queen Bee honey
- 1 tablespoon Ceylon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°. Grease a 9” round cake pan with room temperature butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan, gently warm the caramel until it is loose enough to pour. Pour the caramel into the prepared cake pan and spread it evenly. Arrange the pear slices in a circular pattern on top of the caramel.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Slowly pour the batter over the pears in the cake pan, spreading it evenly.
- Bake for 40 to 45minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the chai honey.
- In a small bowl, whisk honey, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove, coriander, and a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice. Add a pinch of salt to taste.
- Cool and Invert: Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes.
- Run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Place a serving plate over the pan and carefully invert the cake onto the plate. Remove the parchment paper.
- Let the cake cool slightly before serving. Enjoy with a drizzle of chai-spiced honey and a dollop of ice cream!
Notes
Jillian Walraven is a professional cook with a natural affinity for everything edible. She works as a private chef in eSEMA-land for curated parties and events. She’s hoping to bring delicious justice to the underdog fruit in the pome family, pears! chefjilliancurated.my.canva.site/private-chef