Gingerbread-Pear Upside-Down Cake

Derf's Note:

Kids and adults love it, serve with a dollop of sour cream or sweet whiped cream if you like.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 50 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 9

• 1 ¼ cups butter , softened
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large pears , peeled, cored and sliced
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Spread 1/4 cup butter on bottom of 10 inch round cake pan or 9 inch square cake pan.
2. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
3. Arrange pear slices on top.
4. Cream together remaining butter and brown sugar.
5. Beat in egg until light and fluffy.
6. Stir in molasses.
7. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water, set aside.
8. Sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
9. Add flour mixture alternately with dissolved baking soda to creamed mixture, stirring just until blended.
10. Pour over pears.
11. Bake in 350°F oven 50-65 minutes or until tester inserted into centre comes out clean.
12. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake.
13. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert a serving plate on top of pan and turn out upside-down onto plate.
14. Serve warm.

Reviews

[JustJanS]

Our guests really enjoyed this. I used tinned pears well drained and also used golden syrup instead of molasses-I've never cooked with it, only given it to our horses in bran mashes. I found dealing with the cup measurement for the butter a bit awkward as I'm used to dealing with the weight of butter rather than the volume in larger quantities.

[katew]

This was right up there but maybe too much butter for my family's tastes so next time I will cut back on the butter and even try it out using apples. The gingerbread cake part was just gorgeous in colour, smell and taste. I had to use treacle as molasses is not easy to find in Australia but I will start a search for molasses so can do it again.

[Kendra Jean's Kitchen]

Comfort food at it's best! Great served warm but also wonderful served at room temperature with cool whip and a cup of tea. Thank you Derf for posting this soothing recipe.