This cake made my kitchen smell heavenly while it baked. Browned butter, caramel, pears, cardamom and cinnamon mingled and wafted through the air, permeating the house with a fragrance of fall.
And served warm with the brown sugar caramel oozing down the side, it lived up to its promise. Buttermilk gives the cake an extra-light crumb. The cake itself isn't very sweet, but the sweetened pears and the brown sugar caramel that forms as it bakes strike just the right balance.
You could use apples here, if you prefer them, but I think pears are underrated, and this cake lets them shine.
Upside Down Brown Butter Pear Cake
- 12 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar, divided use
- 2 pears, halved, cored and thinly sliced
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar evenly over the parchment paper; set aside.
In a large skillet, heat 8 tablespoons butter over medium heat, stirring or swirling almost constantly until the butter is deep golden and fragrant and the milk solids have separated and settled on the bottom. Watch the heat carefully so the butter does not burn. The butter can quickly go from nutty and light amber to burnt. Remove from the heat and pour the browned butter into the bowl of a stand mixer, scraping the milk solids into the bowl.
Return 2 tablespoons of the browned butter to the skillet and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar, stirring to completely saturate the sugar with the butter. Add the sliced pears and stir gently to coat. Cook pears for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly softened. Remove from heat and set aside.
To the bowl with the brown butter, add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and the granulated sugar. Beat on a medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated, scraping bowl as needed with a rubber spatula. The mixture may appear broken and curdled — this is OK.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and cardamom.
Add the flour to the stand mixer in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour, blending completely between each addition.
Arrange the pears in the prepared pan and pour any liquid over the pears. Dollop the batter over the pear mixture and very gently spread the batter evenly over the pears. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden tester comes out with just a few crumbs attached.
Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes and then, using an offset spatula or the blade of a knife, loosen the edges and invert the cake onto a large platter. Remove the pan. Gently remove parchment paper. Best served warm.
Makes about 8 servings.