Pear-cranberry upside-down cake

 

            Serve warm or at room temperature, with a little whipped cream or even vanilla ice cream.

Makes 16 servings

Topping

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 can (16 ounces) pear halves in light syrup, drained and halved lengthwise
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Cake

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Two-third cup milk
• One-third cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare Topping

1. Place butter in 9 x 9 x 2-inch-square baking pan ; place pan with butter in oven until butter melts.
2. Stir in brown sugar ; arrange pears, rounded-side down, decoratively over sugar mixture in pan.
3. Sprinkle cranberries between pears.

Prepare cake

1. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl ; beat in milk and butter until smooth.
2. Beat in egg, lemon rind and vanilla until blended ; pour batter evenly over fruit in baking pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean ; cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes.
4. Loosen cake from sides of pan ; place serving platter on top of pan and invert cake onto platter, letting glaze drip down sides of cake.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature.

BON APPÉTIT