Upside-Down Pear Cake

My goodness, it feels like summer has just slipped away. I don't know about the weather in your area, but the temperatures have dropped to the point that I wore a scarf yesterday. A scarf!

I hope you're not all sick of my New York City trip posts. I haven't even finished posting all of the wonderful things we saw and ate! To be continued after Labour Day...

To usher in the chill of autumn, how about an upside-down pear cake? It has that nice rustic feel to it and tastes wonderfully sweet as you reminisce about the summer of 2010.

Upside-Down Pear Cake
(Makes about 1 8x8 square cake)

4-5 pears (depends on how thick/thin you slice it)
1 1/4 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/4 cup of yogurt

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and have all ingredients at room temperature. Also have your cake pan ready.
2. Peel and slice your pears. Cut them in a way so that the pear shape remains intact. We like our pears and made them pretty thick.
   
3. Place the cut pears in a sieve to drain any juices.
4. Using an electric mixer, beat 2 tablespoons of butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Take the mixture out and using a spoon, create an even base on your cake pan. Set aside.
5. Take the remaining butter and beat with the 1/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla extract.
   
7. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
8. Alternatively add in the dry mixture with the yogurt. Mix until combined.
   
9. Place your pear slices on top of the brown sugar and butter mixture in the pan. Nicely space the pears. Then, pour in the cake batter.
   
   
   
10. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Take the cake out and let it cool upside down. The cake pan should come off easily because of the delicious caramel pears. Set the cake aside and watch the sweet juices dribble through the cake. Quickly eat and savour.

Enjoy! Autumn doesn't officially arrive until September 23rd!