Name: Upside-down pear cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 380 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: Cake; 150 gm caster sugar; 80 gm unblanched almonds (½ cup); 60 gm hazelnuts, roasted and peeled; 60 gm dessicated coconut; 160 gm plain flour; 300 gm butter; 300 gm granulated sugar; 3 eggs, at room temperature, lightly whisked; 2 oranges (finely grated rind of); To serve: sour cream or crème Anglaise; Roast pears; 6 large under-ripe pears; 180 gm granulated sugar; 2 lemons (juice of); 50 ml white wine

Upside-down pear cake

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for upside-down pear cake by chef Phillip Searle matched with a late-harvest muscat wine.

Serves 8

Prep

20M

Cook

Total

6H 20M

You may want to prepare the pears the day before.

Ingredients

Cake

150 gm caster sugar

80 gm unblanched almonds (½ cup)

60 gm hazelnuts, roasted and peeled

60 gm dessicated coconut

160 gm plain flour

300 gm butter

300 gm granulated sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature, lightly whisked

2 oranges (finely grated rind of)

To serve: sour cream or crème Anglaise

Roast pears

6 large under-ripe pears

180 gm granulated sugar

2 lemons (juice of)

50 ml white wine

Method

Main

1.For roast pears, preheat oven to 150C. Peel pears and halve lengthways. Place cut-side down in a baking dish, sprinkle over sugar and drizzle with lemon juice and wine. Cover with foil and bake for up to 4 hours or until tender. Cool. Using a melon baller, remove cores and stem. Strain liquid through a sieve and reserve. Pears may be cooked the day before and refrigerated.

2.Place caster sugar in a small saucepan, add enough water to dampen and cook over high heat for 10 minutes or until caramel in colour. Pour caramel into a 20cm-round cake pan with high sides and swirl to coat base and sides.

3.Process nuts and coconut in a food processor until coarsely chopped, then add half the flour and process to a medium meal. Combine with remaining flour. Using an electric beater, cream butter, sugar and orange rind until fluffy and approximately 3 times its original volume, then add eggs, a little at a time, beating to incorporate each addition before adding next. Using the open palm of your hand, fold nut mixture through creamed mixture until combined.

4.Increase oven to 160C. Arrange pears, round-side down, snugly into cake pan, spoon over cake mixture, place in a baking dish and cover base with 5mm of water. Bake for 2 hours or until firm and golden. Allow cake to cool in pan. Warm base of pan over stove to melt caramel, then invert onto a plate. Serve drizzled with reserved pear liquid and sour cream or crème Anglaise.