CARAMELISED PEAR UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Barely adapted from here.

Caramelised Pear Upside Down Cake

makes: 8 servings

Caramel topping:

- 6 tbsp. (3/4 stick) salted or unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup sugar (I use Turbinado for everything but any sugar will do)
- 2 large pears, peeled, cored, sliced into 1/4 in. thick slices

Cake:

- 1-1/3 cups AP (all purpose) flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
- 1-1/2 tsp. powdered cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. powdered nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. powdered allspice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup safflower oil (or any other neutral oil) 

- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pears 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the sides of a 9 in. springform pan. 
2. Make the topping: Melt the butter and sugar and pour into the greased springform pan. Working quickly, arrange the pear slices on the sugar, overlapping each slice over the previous. 
3. Make the cake: Whisk the flour, sugar, ginger, spices, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Whisk the eggs, oil, and vanilla extract in a large bowl to blend. Mix in the chopped pears. Mix dry ingredients into the egg mixture to make a batter. 
4. Pour the batter over the pears in the prepared springform pan and bake the cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. If the cake is not done yet, let it bake for another 5 minutes and test. 
5. Cool the cake in the pan for 15-20 minutes. Remove the springform side of the pan. Put a plate on the cake and invert the cake onto the plate. Serve warm, with or without vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.