Pear & Ginger upside-down cake

My poor little blog has been so neglected over the past month! I knew that I would have little time to bake in the month of May. Well, it's now June and I am back in to it! The weather here in Australia has continued to cool down and winter is in full swing. This means warm spiced food, slow cooker meals and comfort food! I thought I'd kick off this month with a recipe featuring my new flavour combination obsession: Pear and Ginger. How have I not discovered this sooner? These two flavours were just meant to be! This was recipe attempt number 3 with this combo. The first was a Pear, ginger and pistachio loaf. It was ok, but the loaf was not "gingery" enough. The second was a Pear and ginger muffin, but I still felt that it was missing something. This one hit the nail on the head. It's a beautiful, moist gingerbread like cake, with caramelized pears and ginger in the upside-down part. Very tasty!

Enjoy!

Pear & Ginger Upside-down cake.

• 1/2 cup butter, plus 2 Tablespoons, room temperatur
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
• 2 firm pears
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup dark molasses/treacle
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F.) Line a 9-inch round cake tin with removable rim at least 2 1/2 inches tall. Line pan with a 10-inch round of cooking parchment, pressing into bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides.

2.Cut 2 tablespoons butter into chunks and drop evenly over parchment in pan bottom. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 cup brown sugar and the crystallized ginger.

3. Peel pears and cut in half lengthwise, then, slicing parallel to cut edge, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. With a small knife, cut core from each slice. Arrange slices flat, in a single layer, over sugar mixture in pan, trimming pieces as needed to fit.
4. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cloves.

5. In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat remaining 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup brown sugar until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to medium-low and beat in molasses. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beating until incorporated, then beat on high speed just until well blended. Pour batter over pears.

6. Bake 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a rack about 20 minutes. Remove pan sides. Invert a platter over cake, then, holding the two together, invert again. Carefully remove pan bottom and parchment. Serve warm.