The Taste Of Autumn - Pear Upside-Down Cake

Pears, often considered the humble cousins of apples, are one of the most versatile fruits and have a delicate aroma and natural sweetness, talents that makes them one of the shining stars of atumn.

They belong, curiosly enough, to the rose family, that gives them a quite aristocratic family background.

There is an enourmous verity of pears grown around the world, an estimated over 3000.!

Apart from sweets they make a wonderful match with cheese, specially blue cheese.

Pears contain antioxidants and anti- inflamatory flavonoids and are rich in diaetary fiber.

So enjoy this wonderful fruit not only for its lovely taste but also for its health benefits.

Here is another elegant way to prepare them, poached and served with orange butter and lemon zest.

Pears go glamour: poached with spices and served with orange butter

Or, as a sophisticated appetizer,combined with blue cheese and crunchy Prosciutto.
 Roquefort Mousse With Poached Pears 

For the Pear Upside Down Cake 
You Need:
For the topping
4 Pears, cut in medium slices
1 spoonful butter
2 spoonful brown sugar ( I prefere to use little sugar, so the natural aroma of the pears is not overwhelmed.)   

For the cake:
1 pear, peeled and diced

250g  (8.8 oz.) of flour

½ teaspoonful of baking powder

125g  (4.4 oz.) of unsalted butter

120g  (4.2 oz.)of sugar

1/8l of milk

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat butter at low heat until butter has melted.

Add sugar, stir gently until sugar has melted than add sliced pears and continue cooking until pears are slightly caramelized.
Set aside.

Arrange the pear slices in a greased baking pan.

-In a large bowl, combine  the flour, butter, sugar, eggs and milk.

-Mix with a hand mixer until  smooth and fluffy.




Cover pears with cake batter, smooth with a spatula.

Preheat oven to 220CBake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a thin knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove cake from the oven and place it on a cooling track.

Let the cake cool down for some minutes (not longer, otherwise the pears will stick to the backing pan), then run a knife around the edges of the cake.
Place a cake plate over the cake and, using hot pads, flip the cake carefully over.
Gently remove thecake pan.
Et voila!

Couldn't resist :)

Serve with a small portion of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Enjoy!
Serves 8-10P