Gingered Pear and Cranberry Upside Down Cake

By: 👩‍🦳 Linda · Published: 🖨 December 8, 2010 · Updated: 💻June 12, 2018 · 🗨 38 Comments

Warmly spiced Gingered Pear and Cranberry Upside Down Cake with gluten free and traditional flour options. Deliciously moist, festive, and perfect for all occasions.

I made a gluten free Gingered Pear Upside Down Cake for the Thanksgiving Gathering at a friend’s house during the recent Thanksgiving holidays. As I was in a rush, the pictures I took did not turn out well. The cake though was delicious and not a crumb was left. There was no chance for me to remedy my pictures. Since we were having company this past weekend, I decided to bake the cake again. This time I added some cranberries to reflect a different holiday. I was curious as to how it would taste if I used regular all purpose flour and so I made two Gingered Pear and Cranberry Upside Down Cake with the same recipe but swapped out the flours.

Both cakes were very similar in taste and I served everyone except the gluten intolerant, a slice of each without telling them which was gluten-free and which was not. They could easily differentiate the cakes but could not decide which they liked better. The gluten free cake has a finer texture but it crumbled more easily. The traditional one has a more springy texture and held together better. Taste wise, I personally preferred the gluten-free cake. Both cakes were equally moist. I loved the crystallized ginger in the cakes. The little bits of cranberries at the ends of each slice lend a slight tartness to the first and last bite.

Christmas came early for me this year. Ro-Ri San ordered this delivery just in time for my holiday baking. 😀

A KitchenAid Professional 5 quart stand mixer in metallic chrome. It’s a beauty!

This recipe was adapted from the KitchenAid booklet that came with the stand mixer. And now, let’s start baking!

Gluten Free Gingered Pear and Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Warmly spiced Gingered Pear and Cranberry Upside Down Cake with gluten free and traditional flour options. Deliciously moist, festive, and perfect for all occasions.

Author : Linda Ooi

Course : Dessert

Cuisine : American, Western

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 10

Servings : 10 servings

Ingredients

½ cup brown rice flour (150g)
½ cup white rice flour (130g)
¼ cup tapioca flour (30g)
6 tbsp potato starch (67g)
1½ tsp guar gum
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground nutmeg
A dash of ground cloves
1 tbsp crystallized ginger (chopped)
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter (1 stick/115g)
¾ cup sugar (165g)
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
⅔ cup milk (160ml)

Topping

¼ cup brown sugar (45g)
¼ cup butter (½ stick/57g)
2 tbsp crystallized ginger (chopped)
1 large pear (peeled, cored, and sliced thinly)
¼ cup fresh cranberries

Instructions

Grease a 9 inch round cake pan.

To Make Topping

Combine brown sugar and butter in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar has melted, about 3 minutes. Remove and pour evenly into cake pan. Sprinkle evenly with chopped crystallized ginger. Arrange pear slices and cranberries decoratively over sugar mixture. Set aside.

To Make Cake

Pre-heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Combine flours, guar gum, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, crystallized ginger, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla at low speed for 1 minute. Add egg and beat another minute
Add flour mixture and milk. Beat for about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and beat for another minute.
Spread batter evenly in cake pan over pears and cranberries. Bake for 50 minutes. Let cake stand in pan for 5 minutes.
Invert cake onto plate, keeping plate and pan firmly pressed together. Replace any fruit stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

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