Almond and pear upside down cake with salted caramel
I am not even joking: you have to make this cake. It took me three attempts to perfect this recipe and yeah I am proud of how it turned out. The
inspiration for this recipe came after I made some waaaaaay too sweet peach
upside down cake. Plus I made a massive batch of salted caramel sauce like a
month ago and have been struggling to figure out what to do with it.
I put them
in nice little jars to give them out as presents, but they turned out too salty
because I did not listen to Nigella’s advice about being too confident on the
amounts of salt you add! So before making this cake I added a little extra
golden syrup and sugar but if you follow her recipe you should be alright.
inspiration for this recipe came after I made some waaaaaay too sweet peach
upside down cake. Plus I made a massive batch of salted caramel sauce like a
month ago and have been struggling to figure out what to do with it.
I put them
in nice little jars to give them out as presents, but they turned out too salty
because I did not listen to Nigella’s advice about being too confident on the
amounts of salt you add! So before making this cake I added a little extra
golden syrup and sugar but if you follow her recipe you should be alright.
Also I have heard that upside down cakes are better served
warm but I found that when this one reached room temperature it was heaven: the
sauce soaked into it and it got gooier and gooier (this my new favourite comparative adjective).
warm but I found that when this one reached room temperature it was heaven: the
sauce soaked into it and it got gooier and gooier (this my new favourite comparative adjective).
Another life changing discovery that came about while
eating this cake (life changes while you’re eating) is that pears are not as
boring as I thought they were! New found respect for them.
eating this cake (life changes while you’re eating) is that pears are not as
boring as I thought they were! New found respect for them.
Almond and pear upside down cake with salted caramel (serves 8-10 slices)
For
the salted caramel sauce (adapted from Nigella’s website)
the salted caramel sauce (adapted from Nigella’s website)
75 grams best-quality unsalted
butter
butter
100 grams soft light
brown sugar
brown sugar
50 grams golden syrup
125 ml double cream
1/2 tsp rock salt
For
the almond cake
the almond cake
100g ground almonds
100g butter
50g caster sugar
100g plain flour
100ml milk
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
3 medium pears, peeled, halved and cored.
Method
1. For the caramel melt butter, sugars and syrup and
butter in a small heavy based pan and let simmer for 3 minutes, swirling every
now and again.
butter in a small heavy based pan and let simmer for 3 minutes, swirling every
now and again.
2. Add cream
and the salt, give a stir with a wooden spoon and taste – go cautiously so that
you don’t burn your tongue. Set aside and let it cool down.
and the salt, give a stir with a wooden spoon and taste – go cautiously so that
you don’t burn your tongue. Set aside and let it cool down.
3. Preheat
the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and pour sauce on a 20cm round baking tin (although I
have used square tins before, you just need an extra pear to fill it up). Then on
top of the sauce place the pears with the outer, rounded edge of the fruit
facing down.
the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and pour sauce on a 20cm round baking tin (although I
have used square tins before, you just need an extra pear to fill it up). Then on
top of the sauce place the pears with the outer, rounded edge of the fruit
facing down.
4. Now to prepare the cake you just need to mix all ingredients with an electric mixer until they are well combined.
5. Spread
mixture over the pears and smooth over the top. I baked mine for 40-50 minutes but
it depends on your oven – always safe to do the toothpick test. Plus I left it
a little longer because I like this cake to get quite golden.
mixture over the pears and smooth over the top. I baked mine for 40-50 minutes but
it depends on your oven – always safe to do the toothpick test. Plus I left it
a little longer because I like this cake to get quite golden.
6. Cool
on a rack for around 30 minutes then turn it onto desired plate. Be VERY
careful here as the sauce will still be hot and very liquid so if not done
carefully you can burn yourself.
on a rack for around 30 minutes then turn it onto desired plate. Be VERY
careful here as the sauce will still be hot and very liquid so if not done
carefully you can burn yourself.
Now just make yourself a cup of coffee and think about how much you love pears.
