pear-fect weather
Thursday, November 7th, 2013
Recipe: pear upside down gingerbread cake
Pears have been around for a few months, but I’ve only really taken notice of them in the past few weeks. I’ve always had a mild fear of pears. I know that sounds silly, but hear me out. The Chinese say it’s bad luck to split a pear between two people. One person eating a pear is fine. Three or more people sharing a pear is fine too. Two people should not split a pear. Because splitting a pear in Chinese is fen li and that is the same sound as the phrase for separation. But I figured, if I put the pears in a cake and shared it around with lots of people – I’d be in the clear.
bosc pears
the topping: pears, butter, light brown sugar
the cake: flour, brown sugar, molasses, butter, water, candied ginger, egg, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves
It’s the perfect time around here for a pear upside down gingerbread cake, don’t you think? Gingerbread stirs that festive holiday mood and pears are in season. Also – it’s 11Β°F outside, so turning on the oven is a wonderful, awesome, very good thing to do.
peel, core, and slice the pears into eighths
sprinkle brown sugar over the melted butter and let cook
arrange the pear slices over the butter-sugar mixture
First, you begin at the stove with a cast iron skillet or other non-stick ovenproof frying pan. These recipes always call for a 10-inch skillet and I only have a 12-inch cast iron skillet. So I sliced up four pears instead of the 2.5 from the recipe to make up for the added volume. Besides, I really like a higher fruit to cake ratio. Start with melting the butter then add the brown sugar. Mine did not melt much at all, it just kind of sat there. But when I added the pear slices, it started turning into this beautiful caramel colored melty syrup. Even if it doesn’t start melting, never fear – it will definitely melt in the oven. But you have to make the batter before you can pop this into the oven.
whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together
beat the sugar, butter, and egg together
whisk the molasses into the boiling hot water
**Jump for more butter**
