The following is an online extra from our October 2022 issue.
Photo courtesy Can Can Brasserie
Pear Upside-down Cake
By Ben Hill, pastry chef at Can Can Brasserie
In his pear upside-down cake, pastry chef Ben Hill of Can Can Brasserie mixes pears with brown sugar and butter to create a sweet, glossy topping for the light and fluffy cake. To serve, Hill plates individually sized cakes with mascarpone ganache, maple-cranberry granola and his housemade vanilla ice cream, but feel free to skip the ganache and granola and go straight for your favorite ice cream.
Pear Topping
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 pears, thinly sliced
Melt the butter, add brown sugar and pour into the bottom of a greased 8-inch cake pan. Layer in the sliced pears in a spiral pattern.
Cake Batter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
Cream the butter and half the sugar. Add in egg yolks and vanilla extract. Once emulsified, alternate dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt) and the whole milk until everything is mixed. Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar in a clean bowl, then add the remaining sugar until you get medium-stiff peaks. Fold that into the rest of the batter in three additions. Carefully layer that on top of your pears, bake at 350 for 30-40 mins depending on your oven. You’ll know it’s ready when the cake springs back when touched. Allow to cool on a wire rack, run a knife along the edge of the cake pan and invert onto a plate to serve.
