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April 19, 2012

Upside-Down Pear Chocolate Cake

Hello…

echo echo echo.

I know… it’s been way too long.

It would seem almost two months have slipped by without my fingers typing a single word here. Crazy town!

Ahh… ya know, I could sit here and type excuse after excuse after excuse… but who wants that?

I’m just thrilled to be back! I’ve missed this blog (and you – duh) like crazy! And now that I’m finally settled in my **new apartment, job, and all that snazzy stuff – I’m stoked to start sharing recipes and love and pretty pictures with you.

This here is chocolate cake decked out to the max with soft sweet pears and a seductive caramel lid: let’s do this!

Do you see that caramel?! And those pears…

They’re totally making out! Color me jealous.

Little do they know it’s about to get even better…

Here comes a deep, dark, heavenly robe of chocolate cake batter to make this cake major!

Majorly awesome, that is.

I couldn’t shovel this into my hungry face fast enough! And vanilla gelato melting all over the place only made matters worse (yes, add gelato!!).

This cake never met another soul besides the shockingly selfish chocolate hog hiding inside me.

Off to mix bacon with bananas and coconut… i’ll tell you more about that next time!!

Upside-down Pear Chocolate Cake –  adapted, barely, from

Epicurious  | September 2009

by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature, for pan

Fruit Topping

  • 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 3 firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored, and each cut into 12 slices (1 pound prepped)

Cake

  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup (1 ounce) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup whole milk (I used buttermilk)
  • Chantilly cream or Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, for serving (optional)

Butter a 9-inch round baking pan.

To make the fruit topping, put the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan (one with a tight-fitting lid) and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then cover and cook for 2 minutes. (Covering in this way allows the steam to wash down the sides of pan, which will prevent any sugar crystals from forming.) Uncover the saucepan and continue to boil the sugar, gently and slowly swirling the pan as needed to cook the caramel evenly, until it becomes a dark amber color. Occasionally wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Carefully pour the caramel into the prepared pan and allow it to harden. The pan will be very hot from the sugar, so take care in moving it if you need to. Fan the pear slices on top of the caramel in a circle around the perimeter, filling in the center with the remaining slices.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the cake, place the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat and melt, stirring occasionally. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Transfer the melted chocolate to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and add the sugar. Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the milk in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake bounces back slightly when touched. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a plate, leaving the pan on top of the cake for 5 minutes before you remove it. Serve the cake warm, topped with a small dollop of Chantilly cream or a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Storage: Wrapped in plastic wrap, the cake will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.

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Filed Under: Cakes, Chocolate

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Helene says

    April 19, 2012 at 11:45 am

    GLAD you’re back Ashley{see those capitals, that’s how happy i am ;-)}, always looking forward to your posts. and this one is no exception either. looking soooooooo good and would be so perfect on my tongue and in my tummy right now {probably not so perfect on the hips, but who cares, right}. hope you settled in all right {house and job}, take care, xx Helene.

    Reply
  2. Emma says

    April 19, 2012 at 12:38 pm

    I never think to combine chocolate with pears, but why not? It looks delicious. I bet it smells delicious. Your chocolate hog is proof that it tastes delicious. And oh, some amazing caramel to boot. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmgladyou’reback!

    Reply
  3. Kristy says

    April 19, 2012 at 1:49 pm

    Welcome back! Glad to hear you’re all settled in and things are going well. I’ve never seen a pear cake! Very creative. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Charles says

    April 19, 2012 at 8:33 pm

    “I couldn’t shovel this into my hungry face fast enough!”

    Haha, awesome – if that’s not a perfect advert for the deliciousness of the cake I don’t know what else is! Looks wonderful!

    Reply
  5. Kelly @ Inspired Edibles says

    April 20, 2012 at 12:27 am

    This is just utterly beautiful… your photos catalogue the progression exquisitely and make me want to dive right in. So unique and interesting looking too. I’m pinning this immediately :).

    Reply
  6. Bee (Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine) says

    April 20, 2012 at 2:23 am

    Oh my goodness. This looks absolutely divine. And gelatto definitely seems necessary.

    Reply
  7. Tobias @ T and Tea Cake says

    April 20, 2012 at 8:37 pm

    Almost good that I only get to know about your blog now, else I would have missed it. 😉
    I know how hard it can be to juggle with what is going on in life and trying to keep the posts steady on one’s blog.

    I usually not much of a upside-down cake fan but I make an exception here. Chocolate Pear Caramel. Sold.

    Reply
  8. Em (Wine and Butter) says

    April 21, 2012 at 4:52 am

    SO I’m on this kick at the moment where I only eat desserts that are totally worth it.

    Like this.

    Also, I’m in America now! The other side though SO the real question is… does this ship well!?!

    Reply
  9. Nami | Just One Cookbook says

    April 21, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    Hi Ashley! Welcome back!!! What a great recipe to come back for. Glad to hear you are settled into a new place and new life! This upside down pear chocolate cake looks so delicious! I never thought of the combination of pear and chocolate before – boy I’m wrong! Yes I do see the caramel… drooling from morning. 🙂

    Reply
  10. Stephanie says

    April 22, 2012 at 8:10 pm

    Caramel, chocolate, and pears…. yum, yum, and…. yum!
    …and welcome back 🙂

    Reply
  11. Erika - The Teenage Taste says

    April 24, 2012 at 10:47 am

    Yay! Glad to see that you’re back – and back with a droolworthy dessert too! Yum! 🙂

    Reply
  12. Cheryl Barker says

    April 24, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    This looks amazing. The chocolate batter by itself even looks yummy 🙂

    Reply
  13. Grace @ Balancing Me says

    April 24, 2012 at 9:36 pm

    Ashley! Wanted to stop by and say hello. Haven’t chatted with you in awhile, but the food you create never ceases to amaze me. 🙂

    Reply
  14. shruti says

    April 25, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    everytime i bake, i always end up giving chocolate cake more preference. your cake looks so tempting…

    Reply
  15. Fiona says

    August 28, 2020 at 7:03 pm

    I cant see where you’ve said how much water to add with the sugar to make the topping.

    Reply

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Meet Ashley

Hey! I’m Ashley, a creative spirit with a major sweet tooth. Most days you can find me in my happy place: the kitchen. If I’m not there, I’m probably snapping photos of food, planning a party… or dreaming about my next trip to Paris (AKA my favorite place in the entire world). I’m a story teller, recipe developer, and photographer who firmly believes that a homemade life is a happy life. Learn More.

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