Rustic Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake is a wonderful dessert for autumn. Light, nutty cake topped with saucy pears in a buttery brown sugar sauce makes any fall meal an occaision. Gluten-free or with gluten options.
Pear season has arrived and with it unlimited options of how to enjoy them in addition to eating them whole. Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake is an easy dessert that will ‘wow’ for the beautiful pattern on the top of the cake once turned out onto a serving platter. It is a homey recipe with familiar spices of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg with some almond flour giving a slightly nutty flavor.
I originally made this recipe and shared it in 2011 after making a Plum Upside Down Cake my family and friends loved. There is something so fun about a cake top lined with beautiful seasonal fruit. Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake layers the sliced pears in a buttery brown sugar mixture giving them a soft, wonderful texture in addition to the caramel flavors. The simple cake is a perfect compliment to the pears and very easy to make. It can be made gluten-free or with gluten based on the all purpose flour used.
The natural sweetness of pears and their appealing shape make them a perfect choice for fall fruit tarts. I personally love tiny Seckel pears which can be eaten in just a few bites. Seckel Pear Soft Shelled Creme Tart is another delicious (and easy) way to celebrate autumn’s bounty, without needing to be a pastry chef.
Pears are wonderful in everything from salads to cocktails, with homemade Spiced Pear Vodka being a wonderful gift too. For more ideas on how to use pears you can check out Pear Perfection: 12 Gluten-Free Recipes!
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How to make Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake:
Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Water
- 2-3 medium-large Pears (like Red Bartlett) peeled, cored and sliced vertically into 1/8-1/4 inch thick slices
- 1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour regular or gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend
- 1/4 cup Almond meal or Almond Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter softened
- 2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2/3 cup Whole Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add 3 tablespoons butter into a 9 inch by 2 inch round layer cake pan and place in the oven to melt, approximately 3 minutes. Do not let butter brown.
- Remove pan from oven. Add brown sugar and water; whisk until sugar is dissolved and butter is incorporated.
- Layer pear slices overlapped each other, with the larger end of the pear toward the outside of the pan (refer to photos). Form a circular pattern allowing the pears to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl of a free standing mixer, whisk together the flour, almond meal/flour, baking powder, salt and spices
- In the bowl of a standing mixer (or using a handheld mixer) cream the butter. Add the sugar and cream together. Add milk, eggs and vanilla and mix together (do not over mix).
- Spoon in dry ingredients and beat until fully combined. Spoon batter evenly on top of pears in the cake pan. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes when toothpick should come out clean and the cake should begin to brown.
- Allow cake to cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edge of the cake pan to free up cake. Place the serving plate upside down on the top of the cake pan, carefully turn the plate and cake over so the cake comes out onto the serving tray revealing the pear top. Be careful as the cake pan will still be hot. NOTE: if allowed to over cool in the pan the cake will not release fully. Allow to cool for 30-45 additional minutes; serve warm.
Nutrition
This delicious recipe was originally published in November 2011 and has been updated in 2017.
Nancy says
We loved how this turned out! The spices in the cake are perfect!
Ruth I says
I like the idea of having it upside down. It makes it more appetizing I suppose. This is absolutely lovely!
Catalina says
Oh my goodness! I only can imagine the flavor of this cake! I love pear desserts!
Sherry says
My husband is a big pear eater. He is sure to love this cake. The apple orchard we are going to this weekend also has pick your own pears so this is perfect timing.
Celebrate Woman Today says
I love pears in this amazing bake. What a delicious and unique idea for Celebration!
Tania says
This really is a “wow” recipe! It’s both beautiful and delicious!
Heather says
It’s not often that I have a dessert with pear in it, but it’s actually one of my favorite fruits. I’ll have to give this a try.
Morgan Eisenberg says
So happy it’s pear season! Celebrating with this cake for sure.
Beth says
This is a beautiful cake! I can see this making an appearance at Thanksgiving or Christmas party – so elegant!
Myrah Duque says
We love upside-down cakes, they do really well at my household! Making it with pear house interesting.
Alina | Cooking Journey Blog says
I love rustic and simple cakes like this one. It is perfect to make this weekend!
Whitney says
Great alternative to pineapple and the presentation is beautiful!
Kushigalu says
Upside down Cake is my all time favorite. This looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
Trang says
I loved how beautiful this turned out. It made me not want to slice it!
Suzy says
I love pears this time of year, my favorite is bosc. We were looking for a gluten free cake and this was just perfect!
Pam Dana says
Not only did I get compliments on how this recipe tasted, but everyone was so impressed with how it looked! THANK YOU!
Katie says
This cake is such a showstopper! It’s beautiful and the pear flavor is really able to shine through. I love it!
Katie says
I LOVE caramelized pears! I cannot wait to try this cake!
Betsy Ba says
I love King Arthur’s gluten free flour! It’s my favorite brand! They do a good job of making a quality product that tastes good but contains zero gluten. Love this recipe! This is the perfect time of year for pears and this cake is so good!
Laura says
Beautiful presentation and delicious flavor!
Lauren Kelly says
I am so happy I found this recipe again! I made it a few months ago and I want to make it again!
Tonya says
I love a great upside down cake but never thought to try it with pears. Now I’m asking myself “Why not?” This looks and sounds so amazing. I can’t wait to try it.