fall baking.....

the weather yesterday was rainy, cold dark and dank....

you know,  typical michigan weather when winter is near....

i hate winter.

so what is a girl to do?  

hmmmm. i know what would make me feel better.

how about this....

upside-down pear gingerbread.

i had a few pears left in the fridge that were getting old fast. i haven't made something like this before

and to be honest, i just thought about cutting the pears up into cubes and

just mixing them into the batter.  

it was really easy to do this though

and i love the way it looked.  

warm spicy syrupy pear sauce on the top

and moist gingery cake on the bottom....

come to mama.....

now, my husband despises gingerbread. and pears.  

my son won't eat it either. but his friend jake came over last night and

had a nice healthy slice.  

at least someone appreciates my baking so half of what was left went home with him. 

(well, i couldn't just leave it lying around for me to eat, could i??)

anyway, here is the recipe, modified from epicurious.com.  you are supposed to make this in a 12 inch  iron skillet but i don't have one of those.  i used a 9 inch cake pan and had a little bit of batter and a half of a pear left over.  i diced the pear and added it to the batter and used a mini loaf pan.  i had to adjust the baking time of the loaf to about 38 minutes.  just keep checking... 

• For topping
• 2 1/2 firm pears (preferably Bosc)
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• whisk the brown sugar and spices together. 

For cake

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup molasses (preferably mild)
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 
  

preparatioPerMake topping:

Prepare pears:

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 spice mixture over bottom of skillet and cook, undisturbed, 3 minutes (not all sugar will be melted). Arrange pears decoratively over sugar and cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

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 skillet, 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. (mine took about 55-60 minutes in the 9 inch cake pan).

Cool cake in skillet on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of skillet, then invert a large plate with a lip over skillet and, using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert cake onto plate. Replace any pears that stick to skillet. Serve warm or at room temperature.

***recipe modified from epicurious****