Go Back
single piece of pear and walnut upside-down cake

Pear and Walnut Upside-Down Cake

Sunnyside Cook

Dawn Dobie
Fresh pears top a walnut-speckled base in this easy but delicious dessert
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 9

Ingredients
  

Topping

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar-- 2 ounces
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3 ripe but firm Bosc pears

Cake

  • 1 cup walnuts toasted
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour-- 2 1/2 ounces
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar-- 5 1/2 ounces
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions
 

  • To toast the walnuts: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place walnuts in a single layer in a baking dish and bake for 6-7 minutes. Cool to room temperature. (Leave oven at 300 degrees.)

For the topping

  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square or round cake pan (with 2 inch sides), then place parchment paper cut to fit in the bottom of it. Mix the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt together.
  • Peel and cut the pears in half. Core the pears, then slice each half into 6 wedges.
  • Spread the melted butter over the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the butter. Arrange the pear slices in a decorative pattern atop the butter-sugar mixture. (I made a flower in the middle, then filled in the edges. You could also make repeating rows of pear slices across the pan.)

For the cake

  • Place walnuts, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in bowl of food processor. Pulse 8-10 times, until walnuts are ground finely. Transfer this dry mixture to a bowl.
  • Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of the processor and process for 2 minutes. The mixture will become a pale yellow. Once the 2 minutes have passed, and while the processor is still running, pour a steady stream of the melted butter and oil through the feed tube into the bowl, continuing to process until it is mixed well.
  • Add the dry flour-walnut mixture from the bowl to the processor. Pulse 4-5 times to combine the wet and dry ingredients.
  • Pour the walnut batter over the prepared pears in the baking pan, spreading the batter evenly by slightly tipping the pan and gently thumping the bottom. If you see some pear pieces peeking out, don’t worry. The batter will rise over them as the cake bakes.
  • Bake the cake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. If you remember, rotate the pan halfway through. (I forgot and it seemed ok.) Test with a toothpick in the center to see if it comes out clean. (It may need another 5-10 minutes, depending on your oven.)
  • Remove from oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
  • Run a knife around the edges of the pan to ensure that the cake will loosen. Turn the cake onto another wire rack set within a rimmed baking sheet (this will catch any dripping goodness). Carefully take off the parchment paper.
  • Allow the cake to cool for around 2 hours. Transfer to a platter, cut into serving pieces and enjoy with whipped cream, ice cream, or crème fraiche.

Notes

Cook's Illustrated recommends using a light-colored cake pan with a depth of at least 2 inches. If your cake pan is dark, they suggest taking 10-15 minutes off of the baking time. They warn that a dark pan may cause the topping to be overly sticky and the cake to dome in the middle.
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated (Jan 2016)