Rosemary-Pear Upside-Down Cake

Rosemary-Pear Upside-Down Cake

This scrumptious Rosemary-Pear Upside-Down Cake is crowned with sweet, juicy fruit!

Rosemary-Pear Upside-Down Cake
Makes 1 (10-inch) cake
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Ingredients
  1. 1¾ cups sugar, divided
  2. ⅓ cup water
  3. ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons butter, softened and divided
  4. 4 Anjou pears, peeled, thinly sliced, and cored
  5. 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  6. 1 teaspoon almond extract
  7. 2 large eggs, separated
  8. ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  9. ¼ cup almond flour
  10. ¼ cup finely ground toasted almonds
  11. 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
  12. 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  13. ½ teaspoon salt
  14. ½ cup half-and-half
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 10-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour; line bottom of pan with parchment paper, and spray paper with baking spray.
  2. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup sugar and ⅓ cup water to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 340°. Remove from heat, and carefully stir in 3 tablespoons butter until melted and mixture is smooth. Pour caramel into prepared pan, and let cool completely.
  3. Arrange pear slices in overlapping concentric circles in cooled caramel in bottom of pan.
  4. In a large bowl, beat remaining ½ cup butter, remaining ¾ cup sugar, and extracts with a mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of bowl. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, ground almonds, rosemary, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with half-and-half, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
  6. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Fold one-third of egg whites into batter; stir in remaining egg whites just until combined. Gently spread batter onto pears in pan.
  7. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes, covering with foil halfway through baking to prevent excess browning, if necessary. Let cool for 30 minutes. Run a knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Invert cake onto a serving platter, and serve immediately. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Notes
  1. When grinding almonds, stop when they resemble fine crumbs. Any further grinding can quickly turn the crumbs into almond butter.
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