I have always wanted to bake an Upside-down Pear Cake and finally came to do it some time ago. After some consideration I decided to call mine The Downside-up Pear Cake.
With my first attempt at the Upside-down Pear Cake, I misread the recipe and used two tablespoons baking powder instead of only two teaspoons. The cake was a flop! But my grams managed to make it a success by making custard and using my flop as a pudding. So, I learned two valuable lessons: First, READ the recipe carefully before jumping in and, secondly, even a flop can be a success!
I took some time before writing the post and I am glad I did. When I scrolled through my blog photos for a new post this morning, I came across the photos I took of my Downside-up Pear Cake and decided it is time for the post.
I might be reading too much into the cake but the Downside-up Pear cake had a special meaning for me. As I scrolled through the photos, the thought came to me that even when your world seems to be turned upside-down (or downside-up), something beautiful and delicious can still come out of it. When all things seem to be going wrong, look for the beautiful in the situation and focus on that to carry you through the difficult times. As I am writing this post, my family and I are going through a rough patch and thought I would share it with you.
I hope that if you are working through some difficulties the Downside-up Pear Cake will comfort you with the thought that something beautifully delicious can be found in the chaos.
Happy baking!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
Topping:
60 ml butter
125 ml treacle sugar
4 pears
Cake:
375 ml flour
10 ml baking powder
Pinch of salt
125 ml butter
250 ml sugar
5 ml vanilla
2 eggs separated
125 ml milk
Pinch cream of tartar
Method:
Topping:
1. Melt the butter and sugar over low heat, remove and let cool.
2. Proceed to make the cake batter.
3. Spray a cake pan with non-stick and place a circle wax paper in the pan, spray again.
4. Peel the pears and slice them in 1/8 the pieces.
5. Place the pears in a circular form in the bottom of the pan.
6. Pour the melted sugar and butter over the pears.
Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.
3. Using a hand-held mixer, mix the butter and sugar together for 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Mix the vanilla and egg yolks into the butter mix.
5. Add the milk and flour by mixing and alternating a spoon of each.
6. Whisk together the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff.
7. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
8. Spoon the batter over the pears and spread it evenly.
9. Place in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes.
10. When it comes out, immediately take it out of the pan.
Notes:
Be careful to not move the pears when spooning the batter onto the pears.
Canned pears can also be used instead of fresh pears.