Servings: eight.
This cake is delicious warm or at room temperature.
Peel, core, and cut the pears lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the pear slices on the bottom of the pan in a circle around the edge, overlapping them slightly, with the pointed ends towards the center. If necessary, cut a little off the pointed ends to make the slices fit better. Or if the pear slices don’t reach all the way to the middle, arrange a few of the shorter slices in the center to cover the bottom of the pan.
Make the Basic Caramel according to the directions. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the 4 Tbs. of butter one piece at a time, until they are completely melted. Carefully pour the hot caramel evenly over the pears (it should spread over the pears and onto the bottom of the pan).
Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt into a medium bowl. Stir to combine. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vanilla.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.Turn the mixer to medium and slowly add the brown sugar. Increase the speed to high and continue to mix until lightened in texture and color, 2 to 3 minutes total. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Reduce the speed to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and milk mixture in five additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix each addition just enough to incorporate, as overmixing will lead to a tougher cake. Scrape down the sides of the bowl one last time and mix briefly to blend well.
Love to cook? Sign up today to get daily recipes from Fine Cooking plus special offers
I made this cake for my birthday, and it was fantastic! Beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. I followed the recipe exactly and used firm pears. We all loved it.
Excellent recipe, it turned out perfect. Will make again.
This was my first time making caramel and the instructions worked perfectly. The cake is not heavy but you have to follow the recipe with regard to combining the ingredients. Have made it twice & it was a huge hit. Making it again for Christmas. Cheers
© 2019 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
Fine Cooking may receive a percentage of sales for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Subscribe today and save up to 44%
SubscribeDo you really want to delete the list, ?
This won't delete the recipes and articles you've saved, just the list.
This feature has been temporarily disabled during the beta site preview.
Add/Edit a private note for this recipe
This note is only visible to you.Double Check
Are you sure you want to delete your notes for this recipe?
Write a Review