Pear-Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

(90)
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Yield:
1 10-inch cake

Serve a scoop of Spice Ice Cream alongside this upside-down cake for a delicious fall dessert.

Ingredients

  • 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter

  • 1 ¾ cups firmly packed light-brown sugar

  • 3 firm but ripe pears, such as Anjou

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • 1 cup cranberries

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

  • ½ teaspoon table salt

  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

  • ¼ teaspoon ginger

  • 3 large eggs

  • 1 cup milk, room temperature

  • Spice Ice Cream

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 6 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar in a medium skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until melted and thoroughly combined, about 6 minutes. Pour into a 10-by-2-inch professional round cake pan.

  2. Peel pears, core, and slice into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Coat with lemon juice, and arrange on top of brown-sugar mixture in a spiral pattern around edge of pan. Fan out slices in center. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cranberries over pears, and set aside.

  3. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger together in a medium bowl, and set aside. Combine remaining 6 tablespoons of butter with remaining cup brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add milk alternately with flour mixture, beginning and ending with four; beat until smooth. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup cranberries; pour over fruit in pan. Bake until a tester inserted in the center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

  4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edges and invert onto a serving platter. Serve with spice ice cream.

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