Upside Down Pear Cardamom Cake Food

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.

SPICED PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10"-diameter cake pan and line bottom with a parchment paper round; flour sides of pan. Cook orange juice, 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses, 1/4 cup sugar, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Add pears, cut side up, and cook (undisturbed) until they begin to release their juices, about 3 minutes. Turn pears over and cook just until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly, then arrange pears, cut side down, in prepared pan.
• Return skillet to medium heat and cook liquid in skillet until thickened and syrupy, about 5 minutes, depending on juiciness of pears. Pour syrup over pears and freeze while you prepare the batter (this is to allow syrup to set up-don't let it freeze solid).
• Pulse walnuts and remaining 1 1/2 cups flour in food processor until walnuts are finely ground. Pulse in baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.
• Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs, orange zest, and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in a medium bowl until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Fold in dry ingredients in 2 additions, fully incorporating before adding the next addition, then gradually mix in oil. Pour batter over pears and smooth top.
• Set pan on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake cake until top is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in pan, 15-20 minutes. Run knife around edges of cake to loosen and invert onto rack. Remove parchment and let cake cool completely.
• Drizzle cake with more pomegranate molasses just before serving.
• Do Ahead
• Cake can be baked 1 day ahead. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

MAPLE-PEAR UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚. Butter the bottom and side of a 9-inch round cake pan. Toss the pear wedges with 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a large bowl; set aside. Bring 3/4 cup granulated sugar, the water and remaining 1 teaspoon lemon juice to a simmer in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer, without stirring, until amber, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons butter. Pour the caramel into the prepared pan, tilting to coat the bottom. Let cool, then top with the pears in a circular pattern.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, sour cream and maple extract in a large liquid measuring cup and stir until smooth. Beat the remaining 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the maple sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed, scraping down the bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
• Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat until thickened, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk mixture in two batches. The batter may look slightly curdled; keep beating and it will smooth out.
• Pour the batter into the pan over the pears and smooth the top. Bake until the top of the cake is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 20 minutes in the pan. Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake to loosen, then invert onto a serving plate and let cool completely.

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.

UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR CARDAMOM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Make caramelized pears:
• Peel pears, then halve lengthwise and core. Spread sugar on a plate, then press cut sides of pear halves into sugar to coat, reserving remaining sugar.
• Melt butter in a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Reduce heat to low and arrange pears, cut sides down, decoratively in skillet. Sprinkle reserved sugar all around pears. Cook pears over moderately low heat until sugar begins to caramelize, about 15 minutes, and remove skillet from heat.
• Make cake batter:
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and beat well. Add flour mixture and milk alternately in 3 batches, mixing at low speed after each addition until just combined.
• Spoon batter over pears in skillet, gently spreading evenly and being careful not to disturb pears (batter will not cover tops of all pears). Bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool cake in skillet on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge and invert a plate over skillet. Invert cake onto plate (wearing oven mitts), keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together. Replace any fruit stuck to bottom of skillet if necessary.
• Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

PINEAPPLE AND CARDAMOM UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Combine brown sugar and butter in a heavy-based saucepan and stir over low heat until well combined and smooth.
• Remove from heat and pour into a well-greased, round, 20cm cake tin, spreading evenly.
• Arrange pineapple pieces on top of brown sugar mixture.
• Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda and cardamom into a mixing bowl. Add caster sugar, stir and make a well in the centre.
• Melt butter with golden syrup, then pour into the well with eggs and milk.
• Beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
• Pour mixture over pineapple pieces and bake at 175C for about 1 hour or until a cake skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• Cover with foil if cake browns before it is cooked through.
• Stand in tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate.