Mulled Pear Upside Down Cake
Having mulled a few jars of pears before Christmas, I developed this recipe - a festive, spiced sponge which goes down a storm during the winter season. It's comforting and versatile: serve it cold for afternoon tea or slightly warmed through after a Sunday roast, with thick vanilla custard. I think it would also make a great Christmas Day dessert, an alternative to Christmas pudding.
You can find my recipe for mulled pears here. If you want to try this recipe but don't have any mulled pears, simply soak some pears in mulled wine for a few days in the fridge (a good way of using up leftover mulled wine, too!).
Having mulled a few jars of pears before Christmas, I developed this recipe - a festive, spiced sponge which goes down a storm during the winter season. It's comforting and versatile: serve it cold for afternoon tea or slightly warmed through after a Sunday roast, with thick vanilla custard. I think it would also make a great Christmas Day dessert, an alternative to Christmas pudding.
You can find my recipe for mulled pears here. If you want to try this recipe but don't have any mulled pears, simply soak some pears in mulled wine for a few days in the fridge (a good way of using up leftover mulled wine, too!).
Ingredients
- 150g baking spread/margarine
- 150g caster sugar
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- Zest of 1 orange
- 125g self-raising flour
- 25g ground almonds
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- Approximately 5 mulled pears, cores and stalks removed and cut lengthways into quarters (see my recipe for mulled pears)
- 1 tbsp honey
Equipment
- 20cm tin (deep-sided, approximately 8cm high)
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (fan), 200°C (non fan) and line the tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Use kitchen roll to soak any excess liquid from the mulled pears. Place the pears in your desired pattern at the bottom of the tin, bearing in mind that the cake will eventually be inverted.
3. Whisk the baking spread and caster sugar together until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, between tablespoonfuls of flour. Whisk after each addition, and then add any remaining flour, the ground almonds, the orange zest, and baking powder.
5. Pour the cake mix over the pears, and then bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown. The cake is ready when it bounces back when you lightly press the middle.
6. Turn the cake out and brush the top with honey.
7. Enjoy warm or cold, with ice cream, cream or vanilla custard.