Cardamom Pear Upside-Down Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce

Need a spectacular dessert for your holiday sweets table?

We're taking the classic upside-down cake and giving it a new modern twist.

Anjou pears are sliced thin and then sautéed in butter and coconut sugar until they are tender. They're arranged in a classic fan pattern in the bottom of a cake pan, then topped with a moist spice cake batter made from a blend of almond, tapioca, and coconut flours that has hints of maple and vanilla.

While this fabulous cake is baking, you can smell all the amazing spices – warm, spicy notes of ginger, cinnamon, and aromatic cardamom.

Once the finished cake rests, it is flipped over and "de-panned" onto a serving plate, to reveal all those beautiful caramelized pears and the sweet, buttery, "browned" sugar and caramel glaze.

Serve this tender cake topped with a dollop of coconut whipped cream and a drizzle of warm salted caramel sauce. It is absolutely stupendous.

Recipes adapted from paleomg and downshiftology.

People who know me well, know I have a true passion for baking. I love baking in the fall and winter when the air is chilly outside and the holidays are rapidly approaching. The warmth of the oven and the smell of freshly baked goodies permeating the kitchen is pure comfort for me. It makes my heart full.

I am known as the "cookie lady" at my office. My coworkers are some serious cookie eaters. They have always been extremely generous supporters of my charity work for Cookies for Kids' Cancer. If I were to do the math, I figure I have probably baked over 20,000 cookies for this amazing organization during the last few years. Yep, I have lots of baking practice.

While baking is very precise and not as forgiving as cooking, I find I can still experiment a little. I can take a traditional recipe – like pineapple upside-down cake – and give it a new, modern update by swapping out traditional ingredients for new, unexpected ones.

So, not only do I like to bake desserts, but I love to eat them too. I am always challenging myself to tailor recipes to work within my recent dietary restrictions. I continue to test and retest and modify them until they do. I won't settle for just good enough. I want them to be foolproof.

Who are the best judges for that? Well, my kids, of course. If I can make a dessert that is compliant for me (that contains no gluten or dairy) and they give it rave reviews, then I know it's definitely a success.

The flour blend that we are using for this cake – almond flour, tapioca, and coconut flour give it a tender crumb while keeping it nice and spongy. The wet mixture – eggs, ghee, coconut sugar, almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla-extract add the perfect amount of liquid. They keep the cake nice and moist, not dense and dry – nobody likes dry cake.

Now, let's not forget the star of the show – the pears. I am using Anjou for this recipe, but you can also use Bosc. When cooking or baking with pears, there are two desired outcomes: pears that keep their shape and pears that fall apart (used for making pear sauce or pear butter). For this recipe, we want pears that will hold their shape. Look for the crispest raw pears you can find – those are the ones that can withstand the heat of baking.

Now, did someone say, "salted caramel sauce"? Oh, how I love a good sauce! Not just in baking but in cooking too. An amazing sauce can take food from great to extraordinary.

This is not your typical homemade caramel sauce made from refined brown sugar, butter, and heavy cream. This golden salted caramel sauce is completely dairy-free, and it's made with all-natural ingredients: coconut milk, coconut sugar, and coconut oil. It’s sweet, buttery, rich, and gooey. It's sinfully good. I seriously want to drizzle it on everything! While the sauce is totally optional, I highly recommend it.

For the salted caramel sauce, in a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, coconut sugar, and salt over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil (be sure to keep a close eye on it, as it can quickly boil over), then immediately lower the temperature, keeping the sauce at a low simmer. Continue to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce reaches the last 5 to 8 minutes of cooking time, stir more frequently to incorporate the browned caramel bits from the bottom into the sauce. Once the sauce has turned dark amber and has thickened to coat the back of a spoon, remove it from the heat and stir in the coconut oil and vanilla extract. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed glass jar for up to two weeks.

To get started on the cake, grease a 9-inch round cake pan (I used non-stick cooking spray) then cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. To do this, lay the bottom of the pan down on the parchment paper and trace around it with a Sharpie. Cut just slightly inside the lines. It should fit perfectly.

For the pears, place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the ghee and coconut sugar and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Then add pear slices. Sprinkle with cinnamon and cardamom and toss until pears become soft – about 5 minutes. Let cool.

Once the pears are cool to the touch, arrange them in the bottom of the prepared cake pan in a fan pattern, overlapping slightly. Once the pears are arranged in the pan, pour the rest of the caramel mixture that’s left in the sauté pan on top of the pears.

For the batter, in a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the liquid ingredients: eggs, melted ghee, coconut sugar, almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Whisk until coconut sugar dissolves. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and mix until combined. Pour the batter on top of the pear mixture (spread all the way to the edges of the pan) and smooth out on top. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be sure to start watching it after 30 to 35 minutes since oven temperatures and cooking times will vary.

Let cake rest for 10 minutes on a cooling rack then put a plate over it, flip the pan upside-down. Tap the bottom of the cake pan a few times to ensure that it comes out clean.

Now, just sit back and soak in all the beauty of the masterpiece that you created.

Pause.

Pause.

Pause.

OK, that's long enough. Now you can eat it!

Here's to happy hearts and full tummies.

Let's get cooking!

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Ingredients

Salted caramel sauce:

• 13.5 ounces full fat coconut milk

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pears:

• 3 tablespoons butter or ghee (for dairy-free use Miyoko's Organic, European Style Cultured Vegan Butter)

• 1/3 cup maple, coconut, or brown sugar

• 3 pears, halved and sliced thin (I am using Anjou pears)

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Cake batter:

• 2 cups almond flour

• 1/2 cup tapioca flour

• 2 tablespoons coconut flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

• Pinch of salt

• 2 eggs at room temperature, whisked

• 3 tablespoons butter or ghee, melted (for dairy-free use Miyoko's Organic, European Style Cultured Vegan Butter)

• 3 tablespoons maple or coconut sugar

• 1/2 cup almond milk

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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How to make

Be sure to visit paleomg and downshiftology for the complete source recipes and instructions.

Salted caramel sauce:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, coconut sugar, and salt over medium-high heat. 

2. Bring the mixture to a boil.

3. Immediately lower the temperature, keeping the sauce at a low simmer.

4. Continue to simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Once the sauce reaches the last 5-8 minutes of cooking time, stir more frequently to incorporate the caramel bits from the bottom into the sauce.

6. Once the sauce has turned dark amber and has thickened to coat the back of a spoon, remove it from the heat.

7. Stir in the coconut oil and vanilla extract.

8. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed glass jar for up to two weeks.

Pears:

1. Place a large sauté pan over medium heat.

2. Add the ghee and sugar and whisk until the sugar dissolves.

3. Add pear slices.

4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and cardamom.

5. Toss until pears become soft – about 5 minutes.

6. Let cool.

7. Arrange them in the bottom of the prepared cake pan in a fan pattern, overlapping slightly.

8. Pour the rest of the caramel mixture that’s in the sauté pan on top of the pears.

Cake batter:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

3. Cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and place it the bottom.

4. Set aside.

5. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.

6. Set aside.

7. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, ghee, coconut sugar, almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.

8. Whisk until coconut sugar dissolves.

9. Add liquid mixture to the dry mixture and mix until combine.

10. Pour batter on top of the pear mixture.

11. Smooth out on top.

12. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

13. Let cake rest for 10 minutes on a cooling rack

14. Put a plate over it, and flip the pan upside-down.

15. Tap the bottom of the cake pan a few times to ensure that it comes out clean.

To serve:

1. Cut the cake into slices and place them on serving plates.

2. Drizzle the cake with salted caramel sauce

3. Add a dollop of coconut whipped cream

4. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

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