I love the fall! Maybe because I was born at this time of the year or maybe because it is harvest time but when the first cool breeze is in the air, my heart lifts and I feel like I have been truly blessed by Gaia. So it will come as no surprise that autumn foods filled with the goodness of the harvest are a favourite as well. I was given some pears from a neighbour’s tree a couple of days ago ( she had reached her breaking point and didn’t want to see another pear until next year ) so I thought I would play a bit in the world of gluten free flours. Now if you don’t have a need or wish to do the same then just substitute regular all purpose flour in this recipe and take out the xantham gum.
Additionally, reduce the ginger in the recipe if you are looking for just a hint of flavour.
Call some friends and give them a couple of hours to arrive.
You will need:
¼ cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons melted butter
3 Tablespoons almonds, chopped and roasted
2-3 pears pealed and sliced
3 Tablespoons, finely chopped crystalized ginger divided into 2 portions
2½ cups high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour
1½ teaspoons xanthan gum (you will not need this if your gluten free flour comes xantham gum included or if you are substituting non gluten free flour).
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsulphured blackstrap molasses
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons honey
8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg at room temperature, beaten
3/4 cup smooth apple sauce
6 tablespoons water ( in two portions )
“In my kitchen filled with care, I welcome, Water, Fire, Earth & Air. Thank you for the blessings in my life, the friends who share their bounty, the friends who share my offerings from that bounty and thank you for the myriad of things that happen outside my knowledge in order for me to open my kitchen cupboard doors and have everything I need at my fingertips. Please guide my heart and hands.”
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Find your spring form pan and place the bottom section on a piece of parchment paper. Draw a circle around and cut out the circle. Put the pan together and place the circle of parchment paper inside. It will come up around the place where the two pieces meet just a little. Use your finger to press down and create a little lip so the paper will stay in place.
Melt butter and mix with brown sugar on the parchment paper. Spread the mixture out to the edges of the paper. Finely chop the ginger and sprinkle half on top of the brown sugar mixture then top with the roasted almonds. I happened to have them sitting around the kitchen. If you don’t have any handy feel free to opt to leave them out. As mentioned above, I was playing, so in the spirit of full disclosure I also popped in the last of the Skor bits from the cookies I posted a couple of weeks ago. If you have anything in your kitchen you think would be a good addition, give it a try!
Peal and core the pears, then cut into slices and place in a ring around the spring form pan. In truth you can do anything you want to. So if your preference is to dice the pears or create a different pattern, feel free. I diced the last bits for the center part.
Now in your mixing bowl, whisk the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and granulated sugar.
In a separate bowl combine the brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, honey, butter, applesauce, egg, the rest of the chopped ginger and half the water.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures until just mixed and add the remaining water only if needed.
I used homemade unsweetened applesauce and there was more than 3/4 of a cup in the jar. I used it all up and reduced the amount of water.
Spoon the batter into the prepared springform pan. Place the batter filled pan in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I find gluten free flours can do with a little extra baking time. At 30 minutes in my oven, the edges were done and coming away from the sides of the pan but the center felt soft, so I kept it in a few minutes longer.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes. This will allow the sugars at the bottom to cool and become thicker.
When you are ready to flip the cake, release the springform and remove the sides. Now something to think about, the parchment is not attached to the cake pan and will do the slip slidey thing very easily. Gluten free flours also tend to be a bit more fragile (crumbly) so be gentle. Place your cake plate over the bottom of the cake. Hold the cake plate and cake with bottom of springform pan still attached and quickly flip over. Take off the pan bottom and peel back the parchment paper carefully.
The cake top will be richly dark and shiny.
Allow to cool or serve warm with freshly whipped cream flavoured with vanilla, maple syrup or rum.
Warm tasty autumn comfort food! This is a heavy cake, very filling so cut small pieces, you can always come back for more.
Time to put the kettle on, your guests will be arriving shortly.
Pear Ginger Upsidedown Cake ( Gluten Free ) from My Kitchen Wand
