Gingerbread Pear Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (57 g)
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (150 g)
• 3 firm-ripe pears, sliced (510 g)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (210 g)
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger (4 g)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (3 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (0.5 g)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (5 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt (3 g)
• 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses (170 g)
• 1 large egg (50 g)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (180 g)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (57 g)

Instructions

1. Arrange a tight pear fan. Pour melted butter into a 9-inch round pan and scatter brown sugar evenly. Lay pear slices in overlapping circles, beginning at the outer edge. Each slice should cover roughly half the one beneath it.
2. Mix the dark spice batter. Whisk flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and salt. In another bowl, whisk melted butter, molasses, brown sugar, egg, and buttermilk. Fold dry ingredients into wet only until the final flour pockets disappear.
3. Cover fruit without shifting it. Spoon batter in small mounds across the pear layer instead of pouring into one spot. Connect the mounds gently with an offset spatula and smooth to the rim, keeping pressure light so the organized.
4. Bake to the center cue. Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes. The top should spring back near the center, and a tester should emerge with a few moist crumbs rather than wet batter.
5. Wait briefly, then invert. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge, place a platter over the pan, and invert in one confident motion. Lift the pan slowly; reposition any pear slice.

Notes

• Use the dish-specific texture cue at every stage instead of relying on minutes alone for Gingerbread Pear Upside-Down Cake.
• Keep ingredient sizes close but naturally varied so cooking stays even and the final arrangement remains relaxed.
• Store or make ahead exactly as described above, label containers with dates, and finish visible garnish shortly before serving.

Nutrition Facts