Saturday unfolded like a perfect Brooklyn weekend: a bloody mary to start, brunch, a stroll through the farmer’s market, an unexpected LARP battle in the park, another bloody mary, and then home to bake a cake — and film the process.
What do Brooklynites love? That exact day.
You might be wondering what a LARP battle looks like — it’s full-on costume combat and improvised armor. We ran into one in Prospect Park and while the spectacle was entertaining, my attention drifted toward the bag of ripe farmer’s market pears I’d brought home.
The video of the baking is coming soon — I promise. Meanwhile, this cake captures everything cozy about autumn in a single 9-inch pan: a brown sugar caramel, tender pears, and a gingerbread-spiced cake that rises beautifully. The aroma alone will conjure images of tree-lined hillsides and crisp leaves. If you live in Brooklyn, it might just make the ivy on your fire escape look a shade or two greener from that one perfect bathroom window.
This cake works wonderfully with apples instead of pears, or you can leave out the fruit and finish the cake with a bourbon caramel glaze for a richer finish. Either way, it’s a comforting, spiced dessert that suits cool evenings and relaxed gatherings.
Gingerbread Pear Upside-Down Cake
Makes one 9-inch cake
Adapted from Gourmet
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick + 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (divided)
3/4 cup brown sugar (divided as 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup molasses
3 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 ripe pears
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat one stick of butter until light and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar and beat until combined, then mix in the molasses. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter with the 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook until the mixture bubbles and turns a golden caramel color. While the caramel cooks, peel, core, and slice the pears about 1/4-inch thick.
Pour the warm caramel into the prepared cake pan and arrange the pear slices in an overlapping layer to cover the bottom.
Finish the batter by alternating additions of the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the molasses-butter-egg mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, then pour the batter evenly over the pears.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake starts to pull away from the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes, then invert it onto a serving plate. Remove the parchment and serve warm or at room temperature.
