Apple and Pear Upside Down Cake

Recipe:

Ingredient Notes:

• Apples. The best choice here is sweet-tart apples with firm flesh that won’t turn to mush when baked – Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn. Sweeter varieties like Fuji or Golden Delicious hold their shape nicely, too, but you’ll get less of that bright flavor contrast since they lack acidity.
• Pears. Look for ripe, flavorful pears that are still firm to the touch; overripe fruit will collapse into purée in the skillet. Bosc and Anjou hold up exceptionally well to heat (Conference also works wonderfully if you can find them).
• Lemon. It serves two purposes: keeps the fruit slices from browning and adds a touch of acidity to balance the sweetness.
• Cinnamon. It brings a cozy warmth that complements both apples and pears. If you happen to be out, it’s not the end of the world, but it definitely gives the cake extra depth.
• Almonds. Use raw almonds if you plan to grind them yourself – roasted nuts release oils much faster and can quickly turn pasty. Skin-on or blanched both work fine; using unblanched almonds will simply give the crumb a slightly darker, rustic look without affecting the flavor.
  If you have store-bought almond flour on hand, just swap it 1:1 by weight.
  • Hazelnut flour or whole hazelnuts work just as well here.
• Sugar. Regular granulated white sugar is plenty for the batter. For the fruit topping, you have two options: brown sugar (which deepens that rich caramel note) or standard granulated sugar. Both turn out delicious, so go with what you have.
• Butter. For both the fruit topping and the batter, go with unsalted butter with at least 80% butterfat (European-style butter works great here). The butter for the batter should be properly softened to room temperature – pliable, but not greasy or melted.
• Eggs. This recipe is based on standard medium-to-large eggs (about 50-55 g each out of the shell). They blend into the batter best when brought to room temperature before mixing.
• Flour. Standard all-purpose flour (around 10% protein) is ideal. Cake flour also works well for an even softer crumb. Save strong bread flours for another baking project.
• Milk. Used mainly to loosen and balance the batter consistency. Any fat percentage is fine. If needed, you can swap it for buttermilk or plain kefir – just make sure to add a pinch of baking soda to the batter to balance the acidity.

Let’s start cooking!

Peel and core the apple and pear. Cut into 1 cm cubes and sprinkle with the juice of half a lemon to prevent them from darkening.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the fruit, cinnamon and sugar. Cook, stirring constantly, until the apples are soft.

Turn off the heat.

Prepare the batter. In a large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Stir in the almond flour.

In a separate small bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla extract using a fork.

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Add the flour and egg mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Start and finish with flour (one part flour – one part egg – one part flour – one part egg – one part flour).

Place the fruits in a greased pan.

Spread the batter evenly.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (355°F) for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack with the filling side up, and let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Slice and serve.

Have a nice tea party!

This Apple and Pear Upside Down Cake recipe was checked, prepared and approved by Chef Tatyana Nazaruk - author of FlavorIt.com.
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