Upside Down Cardamom-Pear Cake
For Thaniel's birthday and our anniversary, I planned to make a special cake to take to the beach with us. I wanted it to be less of a sugar bomb than the normal grocery store sheet cake, but more appealing than the many "healthy" baby cake recipes I found. Thaniel loves pears, and this cake hit the spot for all of us!
I meant to bake the cake before we left town, but time got away from me. So I cleverly pre-mixed the dry ingredients and packaged them in zip-top bags labeled "cake flour", "topping", etc. and placed everything along with mixing utensils in my 9" round aluminum cake pan. I would pick up the wet/cold ingredients at the beach along with other groceries for our stay, and finish the cake in the condo's tiny kitchenette.
On arrival I was dismayed to find there was no oven! But there was a microwave. After the initial shock of disappointment, I wondered if I could microwave the cake. I called my husband (who was to join us later in the evening), asked him to bring a glass baking dish just in case, and then Googled "bake cake microwave" on my iPhone. Turns out you CAN microwave a cake, and without adjusting the ingredients, either!
Quick cooking note: when I poured the melted brown sugar into the glass dish, it cooled instantly into candy, rendering it unspreadable! I put it back in the pan to melt again, then drizzled it all over the dish instead of pouring it out in one big blob. Also since my glass dish is only 8" and I only filled it halfway to leave room for rising, I had batter left over.
The resulting cake was ugly but delicious! We topped it with multi-colored star candles (for which we forgot to pack a match), took the requisite birthday photos and enjoyed. Recipe below!
Upside Down Cardamom-Pear Cake
Pears:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Cooking spray
2 peeled Bartlett or Anjou pears, cored and each cut into 12 wedges
Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
3/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare pears, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom; cook 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Pour sugar mixture into a 9-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Arrange pears in an overlapping circle over sugar mixture; set aside.
To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Sift together flour, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, and salt in a large bowl, stirring well. Place granulated sugar and 1/4 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; beat until blended. Add flour mixture to egg mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla. Spoon batter into center of prepared pan; gently spread batter to cover fruit.
Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; run a knife around outside edge. Place a plate upside down on top of pan; invert onto plate. Let stand 2 minutes before removing pan. Cut into wedges.
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I meant to bake the cake before we left town, but time got away from me. So I cleverly pre-mixed the dry ingredients and packaged them in zip-top bags labeled "cake flour", "topping", etc. and placed everything along with mixing utensils in my 9" round aluminum cake pan. I would pick up the wet/cold ingredients at the beach along with other groceries for our stay, and finish the cake in the condo's tiny kitchenette.
On arrival I was dismayed to find there was no oven! But there was a microwave. After the initial shock of disappointment, I wondered if I could microwave the cake. I called my husband (who was to join us later in the evening), asked him to bring a glass baking dish just in case, and then Googled "bake cake microwave" on my iPhone. Turns out you CAN microwave a cake, and without adjusting the ingredients, either!
Quick cooking note: when I poured the melted brown sugar into the glass dish, it cooled instantly into candy, rendering it unspreadable! I put it back in the pan to melt again, then drizzled it all over the dish instead of pouring it out in one big blob. Also since my glass dish is only 8" and I only filled it halfway to leave room for rising, I had batter left over.
The resulting cake was ugly but delicious! We topped it with multi-colored star candles (for which we forgot to pack a match), took the requisite birthday photos and enjoyed. Recipe below!
Upside Down Cardamom-Pear Cake
Pears:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Cooking spray
2 peeled Bartlett or Anjou pears, cored and each cut into 12 wedges
Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
3/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare pears, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom; cook 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Pour sugar mixture into a 9-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Arrange pears in an overlapping circle over sugar mixture; set aside.
To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Sift together flour, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, and salt in a large bowl, stirring well. Place granulated sugar and 1/4 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; beat until blended. Add flour mixture to egg mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla. Spoon batter into center of prepared pan; gently spread batter to cover fruit.
Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; run a knife around outside edge. Place a plate upside down on top of pan; invert onto plate. Let stand 2 minutes before removing pan. Cut into wedges.
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