Celebrating summer with a pear spice cake

We are in September and this is pretty much the fag end of the season for many a fruits - including pears. It has been a wonderful summer with abundance of both pome and stone fruits. Have been using them up in different ways -chutneys, jellies and of course jams. Some of the pears have been poached in brandy syrup and hopefully they would last till the next season. This was my first attempt so keeping my fingers crossed that they taste as good as they look after poaching.

In this season I had already made pear cake twice - however the son liked it so much that I made another one for him to take to college. So it was like enough of pear cakes for the summer but when I came across this new cake recipe I couldn't resist it and wanted to try it immediately. But the recipe specified - "fully ripened pears", so I had to be patient - not an easy thing for me for once a recipe catches my fancy my fingers ache to get on with it. Anyways, so the pears were  left outside to ripen, which took a couple of days because the hubby saw them lying outside and put them promptly back in the refrigerator ... can't blame him with temperatures hovering around 40 degrees C, ordinarily it sure would be madness to leave anything outside.

Finally it got made and what an amazing cake it was, the taste of cinnamon coming through so nicely. It didn't need any fancy glazing or much glamming up, just a fine dusting of icing sugar in case you wish to. A full bodied cake whose taste just grows on you and the flavors get more enhanced with each passing day ... only if you are able to make it last till then.

This Pear Spice Cake comes from Euro Pane bakery in Pasadena, California which featured in the LA Times and made it to their list of top ten recipes of 2012. A guest at the restaurant had liked the cake so much that she requested for the recipe and the owner Sumi Chang shared it with LA Times. This is in the owners’ words a 'humble looking cake but the taste is incredible". It is now an absolute favorite of mine with its firm well browned top, moist base and an incredible fragrance.

 

Pear spice cake

 "Euro Pane's Pear Spice Cake"-source LA Times

3 cups  ( 12.75 ounces ) flour

11/2 teaspoon baking powder

11/2 teaspoon baking soda

11/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs

3 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

7 ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped into cubes

2 cups walnuts

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. grease a 13 by 9 inch baking pan, line the bottom with parchment paper then grease again.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon and set aside

In a separate large bowl beat together the eggs and sugar, then beat in the oil. Beat in the flour mixture until just combined then fold in the pears and nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check the cake after an hour and cover the top loosely with a sheet of foil if it browns too quickly before it is done. Remove and cool completely on a rack before serving.

Pear and Cinnamon Upside Down Cake

Pears are at their peak in this season and I had got a whole lot of them for making jam. There were quite a few still left so decided to use them in making this delicious cake. The pears were nice and juicy and not over ripe so they held their shape when baked. This is a simple cake to make and doesn’t take too much time.

Fresh and juicy Pears

Pears team up well with spices. Here I have used cinnamon, just a small amount is sufficient so that it's not overpowering and allows the taste of the pears to come through. It tastes very nice served warm on its own or with a dollop of ice-cream. The cake can also be had later when it's cooled down, tastes fabulous either way.

Pear and Cinnamon Upside Down Cake

For the topping
1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoon butter

2 firm pears, peeled, cored and sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the cake
 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

11/2 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 cup milk

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C  and butter a round cake tin.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together and keep aside.

Melt 1/2 cup sugar in a pan and let it caramelize. Then add 2 tablespoons of butter to it and pour it into the prepared cake tin. Swirl it around till the pan is coated with the caramel.  Arrange the pear slices in the pan overlapping each other in a fan shape till the pan gets covered then sprinkle lemon juice on top.

Beat 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a mixer till it becomes light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla essence. Then mix in the flour along with the milk. Fold in the flour till everything is just incorporated. Pour the batter on top of the pears ensuring that they are well covered and smoothen the top.

Bake for 40-45 minutes till a skewer inserted inside comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then invert it onto a plate.

Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream

Pear and Cinnamon Upside Down Cake