Fall is finally upon us. One of my favorite things about fall is the seasonal flavors; Pumpkin, molasses, ginger, pear, apple, nutmeg. All those warm comforting thick flavors. One of my favorite thing is thick, moist ginger bread. This dessert is a lot like ginger bread. However, it is baked upside down on delicious red pear in a caramel sauce. I then topped mine with a Mascarpone mousse. Here's the recipe.
Upside-Down Molasses Pear Cake
For topping
2 1/2 firm pears
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
For cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup molasses (preferably mild)
1 cup boiling water
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Make topping:
Peel and core pears and cut each into 8 wedges.
Melt butter in skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Reduce heat to low, then sprinkle brown sugar over bottom of skillet and cook, undisturbed, 3 minutes (not all sugar will be melted). Pour Caramel into a spring form pan. Arrange pears decoratively over caramel. Set Aside.
Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together molasses and boiling water in a small bowl. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes, then alternately mix in flour mixture and molasses in 3 batches at low speed until smooth.
Pour batter over topping in pan spreading evenly and being careful not to disturb pears, and bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.
Cool cake on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan, then invert a large plate with a lip over pan and, using pot holders to hold pan and plate tightly together, invert cake onto plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Fall is finally upon us. One of my favorite things about fall is the seasonal flavors; Pumpkin, molasses, ginger, pear, apple, nutmeg. All those warm comforting thick flavors. One of my favorite thing is thick, moist ginger bread. This dessert is a lot like ginger bread. However, it is baked upside down on delicious red pear in a caramel sauce. I then topped mine with a Mascarpone mousse. Here's the recipe.
