From Lauren: This recipe is from my friend Jean Choi, who regularly contributes her creative recipes here.
I don’t usually eat a lot of sweets, but I love how gorgeous and delicious upside down cakes are. There’s something about the way the fruit pattern looks on a simple cake base that always has me reaching for a slice. To celebrate this wonderful holiday season, I decided to whip up this delicious pear upside down cake and I haven’t been able to stop snacking on it since.
This is actually the first time I made an upside down cake with pears, and I’m delighted at how moist and delicious it came out. You can really taste the pear from the top layer of the cake, and this flavor in combination with molasses, ginger, and cinnamon will put you in the holiday mood at first bite!
About the ingredients in Pear Upside Down Cake
Pears – Any kind of pear will work but you want to find pears that are ripe but still firm enough to slice easily. Organic is preferred.
Coconut Flour – Coconut flour acts very different from other grain-free, gluten-free flours and I don’t recommend substituting this flour with anything else. Coconut flour baking usually requires real eggs, so no egg substitute will work here.
Coconut Milk – Make sure to use full-fat coconut milk from the can for best results!
- 2 ripe pears, such as Bosc
- 1 tbsp ghee or coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line the bottom of a 9-inch spring foam cake pan with parchment paper cut into a circle.
- Peel, core, and quarter the pears lengthwise. Slice the pears lengthwise into into ¼ inch thick pieces.
- Place the pear slices in a large bowl, and coat with ghee.
- Add coconut sugar and cinnamon and gently toss together.
- Place the pears in a flat layer in the cake pan by overlapping them slightly and fanning them out, creating a spiraled pattern.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together coconut flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and sea salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut milk, eggs, maple syrup, molasses, and vanilla extract.
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir together to combine well.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan over the pears, and smooth out the top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cake on to a plate.
- Remove the side of the pan and cool for another 10 minutes.
- Cut into slices and serve.
About Jean Choi
Jean Choi is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, recipe developer, and food photographer at What Great Grandma Ate. She started her blog to share her story of overcoming years of digestive issues and adrenal fatigue, and to help others realize that nutrient-dense allergen-free cooking can be simple, easy, and delicious. Jean believes that the food you love should love you back through healing and nourishment. For more of her real food recipes and SoCal adventures, follow along on her Instagram and Facebook.
Good morning. I would love to make this for my ginger and molasses loving daughter. Any ideas on how this stores best after baking and how far in advance this could be made? Thank you for this beautiful recipe.
You can store it in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a week!
Question: isn’t it rather dry with all the coconut flour? Most coconut flour recipes I use have tapioca, arrowroot flour, in addition, or other moisturizing ingredient such as bananas, applesauce, carrots, or zucchini squash. Thanks.
There are enough eggs and liquid in this recipe to make the cake moist without drying out!
The eggs seem to have been left out of the directions. I assume you mix them in with wet ingredients?
I agree with Kamala. Eggs are listed in ingredients but omitted from recipe.
Just fixed it. Sorry about that!
Jean, this receipe is a “home run”! My husband and I were given a box of Harry & David pears this Christmas, and your recipe appeared at the perfect time to utilize a few here. Delicious, moist…and
this pear upside-down cake goes to the top of my dessert list to make the next time company comes over for sure! Our only adjustments were using a tablespoon (rather than 1/4 tsp) of ceylan cinnamon mixed with the pears, ghee and coconut sugar–and I baked it in a parchment-lined 9.5 inch glass pie pan rather than a spring form pan. Non-dairy whipped topping really completes it. Thank you so much!
Made this. Did not care for it. Very wet when not over baked.
Thank you for this tasty recipe. Can it be frozen?