Upside-down cakes are always popular; they're fruity, moist and look pretty. Enjoy.
Ingredients
- 200g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 2 tbsp soft dark brown sugar 300g caster sugar
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 ripe but firm pears
- 200g unrefined caster sugar
- 3 large free-range eggs
- 100g ground almonds
- 100g self-raising flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 250g blueberries
- Double cream to serve
Method
- 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/fan160ºC/gas 4. Butter a 23cm round cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Sprinkle the cake tin with the brown sugar.
- 2. In a saucepan, mix together 500ml water, the caster sugar and lemon zest, then add the cinnamon stick. Place over a low heat. Meanwhile, peel and core the pears and slice into wedges. When the sugar has dissolved, add the pears to the pan and poach gently for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and lift out the pears with a slotted spoon. Place them in the base of the cake tin.
- 3. In a bowl, beat the butter and unrefined sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the ground almonds, flour, salt and mixed spice, then the blueberries.
- 4. Spoon the mix over the pears and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (except where it pierces a blueberry).
- 5. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Allow to cool a bit more before serving warm, with double cream.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 413kcals, 24.7g fat (11.9g saturated),
6.2g protein, 38.5g carbs, 34.5g sugar, 0.4g salt