Saffron Scented Pear Upside Down Cake Food

PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar together over low heat, stirring occasionally until dissolved. (Alternatively use your microwave at half power or less in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until melted. If you go longer or at a higher power setting, you may have a buttery mess on your hands. Consider yourself warned!)
• Pour caramel mixture into 9-inch round cake pan.
• Top with sliced pears, working from the inside to the outside, creating a spiraled pattern.
• In a medium mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together milk, oil, egg, and vanilla until just blended.
• Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir until just incorporated.
• Pour cake batter into pan over caramel and pears.
• Place cake in middle rack in oven. On a lower rack, place a large cookie sheet directly underneath the cake pan to catch any possible drips.
• Bake approximately 50-60 minutes, or until caramel has bubbled up around the sides, cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out with dry crumbs adhering to it.
• Remove from oven and let cake stand for approximately 10 minutes on a wire rack. (This is an important step: if you turn cake out too soon, some of the topping of your cake might fall apart; alternatively, if you turn cake out too late, you may not be able to get the cake out because the caramel will have cooled too much and stuck to the pan.)
• Flip cake out onto a serving dish and serve warm or cold.

PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Make the topping: Melt butter in the bottom of a 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet over low heat. Add brown sugar, stirring until dissolved. Swirl to coat the bottom; remove from heat, and cool. Cut pears into 1/4-inch-thick wedges, and arrange them in a circular pattern over the brown-sugar mixture to cover completely; set aside.
• Make the batter: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract; beat to combine. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine.
• Alternating with the milk, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and mix, on low speed, just until the flour is incorporated.
• In a large bowl, beat reserved egg whites and the cream of tartar with a hand mixer until stiff but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites into the batter. Transfer to skillet. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter evenly, being careful not to disturb the pears.
• Bake until well browned on top and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan, and immediately invert the cake onto a serving dish. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PEAR-PECAN UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Butter the inside of a 5-quart round slow cooker, then line it completely with a large sheet of foil and butter the foil. Turn the cooker on low. Sprinkle the cut-up butter and the brown sugar over the foil in the cooker. Add the pears, arranging them in a circle, cut-side down.
• Mix the flour, pecans, cornmeal, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. In the large bowl of a mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on low speed until just blended. Increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
• With the mixer on low speed, beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed just until the batter is smooth. Spread over the pears in the slow cooker. Drape paper towels over the top of the slow cooker (not touching the cake) to prevent condensation from dripping onto the cake. Cover and cook on low until the cake sets and the sides brown, about 3 hours. Turn off the cooker and let the cake rest about 20 minutes.
• Lift the cake by the foil and place on a rack to cool. Carefully invert onto a platter and peel off the foil. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

SAFFRON-SCENTED PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-inch square or round cake pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper, and set aside.
• Pulse saffron and 1/4 cup sugar in a spice grinder until well combined. Put butter and saffron sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Using a small offset spatula, spread mixture into prepared pan.
• Peel pears; halve lengthwise, and core. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut pears lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange pears decoratively in pan over saffron-butter mixture.
• Whisk together flour, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, ground ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in another bowl. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking. Stir in crystallized ginger.
• Spread batter over pears. Bake until set and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Place a serving platter upside down over pan; flip to unmold cake. Peel off parchment.

PEAR UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees F.
• Stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and corn syrup and evenly coat the bottom and sides of a 10 inch glass pie plate with the mixture. When the almonds are cool, arrange around the bottom rim of the pie plate, with a few in the center, pressing them into the brown sugar mixture. Arrange the pear halves like spokes of a wheel on top of the brown sugar mixture.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the pastry flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and thoroughly mix.
• In another bowl, whisk together the softened butter, sour cream, egg yolks and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with an electric mixer at medium speed about 1 1/2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until thick and smooth.
• Using a spatula, spread the batter evenly over the fruit, building up the outside edges so the cake will be level when baked. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and cool 3 to 5 minutes (no longer) and then invert onto a serving plate, repositioning the fruit as necessary.

PINEAPPLE-MANGO UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-by-8-inch cake pan, line it with parchment paper, and butter parchment. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out rounds from centers of four of the pineapple slices. Using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out the centers of each of the four rounds, and discard; set rings aside. Finely chop enough of the remaining pineapple to yield 1 cup (reserve remainder for another use). Place chopped fruit in a fine sieve set over a bowl to drain.
• Cut the mango lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Using the 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out four rounds from mango slices; set aside. Finely chop enough of the remaining mango to yield 1/2 cup; add to the pineapple in the sieve.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 2 tablespoons butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a small offset spatula, evenly spread butter mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; set aside. Place a reserved pineapple ring in each corner of the prepared pan. Place a reserved mango round in the center of each ring.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat remaining stick of butter with granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on lowest speed, add flour mixture in two parts, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour.
• Transfer the chopped pineapple-mango mixture to cake pan; discard juice. Using a small offset spatula, carefully spread fruit in an even layer on top of cut-out fruit, making sure to fill all the empty spaces, including any gaps in the corners. Using the offset spatula, spread batter evenly over fruit.
• Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 30 minutes. Invert onto a cake plate; peel off the parchment paper. Serve cake slightly warm or at room temperature.

LIGHT PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-inch square baking pan with oil; line with a strip of parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Brush paper with oil. Sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/4 cup sugar. Trim pineapple wedges to no more than 4 to 5 inches long; arrange in pan in groups of four, alternating direction.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, oil, and remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Add flour mixture; mix just until combined. Pour batter over pineapple. Tap pan firmly on counter to settle batter, then smooth top.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool 20 minutes in pan; invert onto a serving platter (peel off and discard paper).

PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Spread butter in an 8-in. square baking dish. Arrange pear slices in a single layer over butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans., In a large bowl, beat cake mix, milk and egg on medium speed for 3-5 minutes; pour over pears. , Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm.