Upside Down Pear Cardamom Cake Recipes

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 AND CARDAMOM UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-1 1/2 -inch round cake pan. 2. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together. Stir in the cardamom and set aside. 3. Melt one-fourth cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sugar has melted and combined with the butter. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan, spreading it to reach the sides. 4. Peel the pears, cut in half and remove the core and stem. Cut each half crosswise into one-fourth-inch-thick slices. Arrange the pear slices in a slightly overlapping circle around the cake pan, starting at the outer rim. Finish with several slices in the center. Sprinkle the pears with the lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. 5. Beat the remaining one-half cup butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until soft and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk, beating after each addition just until combined. 6. Gently spoon the cake batter on top of the pears, smoothing out to the edge of the pan and making sure the cake batter fills in around the pears. 7. Bake until the top is a deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Place the cake on a rack to cool for 5 minutes in the pan. 8. Run a small spatula or knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a cake plate, leaving the pan on the cake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Each serving: 447 calories; 5 grams protein; 66 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 19 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 100 mg. cholesterol; 230 mg. sodium.

PEAR CARDAMOM UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9-inch round cake pan.
• In a small skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, stirring constantly. When the sugar dissolves, pour it into the pan. Arrange the sliced pears on top of the syrup in an overlapping circle.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt, stir to combine. In a separate bowl, blend butter and granulated sugar, then blend in eggs. Alternate dry ingredients with milk, blending to combine. Add vanilla.
• Spoon batter into pan, starting in center and gently spreading on top of the fruit.
• Bake for 50 minutes, or until done.
• Cool in pan 10 minutes, then cover with a plate and invert it onto the plate. Leave the pan on for two minutes, then gently remove the pan.

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.