Brown Butter Hazelnut Pear Upside Down Cake

This flavor combination is absolute heaven! My Pear Upside Down Cake is so moist and flavorful with brown butter, roasted hazelnuts, ripe pears and salted caramel sauce. It is an irresistible combination with the underdog of baking fruits. I think pears are not used enough, and when they are baked, they become even more deliciously sweet. If you love the idea of this cake, check out my Caramel Apple Crumb Cake, Brown Butter Peach Crumb Cake and my Lemon Blueberry Crumb Cake too!

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Easy to make - this recipe is very simple and it comes together in no time without even pulling out your mixer. You can make this all by hand.
• Brown butter cake - the flavor of brown butter marries so well with hazelnuts. It's a magical combination.
• Soft and moist hazelnut cake - this simple one-bowl cake recipe makes a very soft, moist tender cake.
• Fresh pears - thick wedges of fresh ripe pear are placed on the bottom of the pan below the batter, and once you invert the cake, the glossy pears become the top of the cake.
• Salted caramel drizzle - this is the finishing touch that really elevates this cake. I use my Easy Salted Caramel Sauce recipe. Serve a slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you'll have a very magical dessert.

INGREDIENTS FOR HAZELNUT PEAR UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

• All purpose flour - unbleached all-purpose flour works great for tender butter cake. I would avoid cake flour which absorbs more moisture and could actually make this cake a bit dry without altering the other ingredients.
• Hazelnuts - for the best flavor, I highly recommend that you roast the hazelnuts first before grinding them. It's easy! Just place them in a single layer in a dry frying pan over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently for 10 minutes until they are fragrant. Once toasted, turn them out onto a dry kitchen towel, wrap them up and rub it around to loosen the skins.
• Unsalted butter - for this recipe, you will brown the butter. Follow my tutorial here to learn how. It's easy! Use unsalted butter as there is already salt added in the recipe.
• Brown sugar - a bit of brown sugar adds to the caramel-like flavors that brown butter brings.
• Granulated sugar - I like to blend the brown sugar with white sugar in brown butter recipes so the molasses tastes doesn't overpower the taste of the brown butter.

• Eggs - two large eggs will add nice structure for this butter cake.
• Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is essential to enhance the flavors of this cake. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
• Sour cream - use full fat sour cream to add more richness to this recipe. If you don't have sour cream where you live, read down below in my FAQ section for my substitution recommendations.
• Milk - any type of milk will do. I prefer whole milk for baking. It should be at room temperature so measure it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking.
• Pears - you must use fresh pears for this recipe. They should be ripe but still firm. Try to avoid very soft mushy pears. My preference is for Bosc variety for their sweet caramel-like flavor, but you can also use Bartlett or Anjou.
• Salted caramel - drizzle the baked cake with my Easy Salted Caramel Sauce. This pairing of caramel, hazelnut and pear is to die for.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR PEAR UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

• STEP 1). First brown the butter. Follow this tutorial here to learn how to brown butter, then set it aside to cool for 15 minutes.
• STEP 2). Prepare the pan. Line an 8x8-inch round baking pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang at each side. Brush the parchment lightly with some of the brown butter.
• STEP 3). Make the pear layer. Slice the pears in half and then remove the core and cut out the stem. Slice each half into thirds or quarters lengthwise so you get 6-8 wedges from each pear depending on how big they are. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the base of the lined and brushed pan, then arrange pear wedges tightly in any way over the sugar.
• STEP 4). Make the cake batter. Combine wet ingredients. Combine cooled brown butter, both types of sugar, eggs, sour cream and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy. Mix in the ground hazelnuts.
• STEP 5). Combine dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add it to the wet mixture and fold it in by hand with a spatula until mostly incorporated but a few streaks of flour remain. It will be thick.
• STEP 6). Add milk. Pour in the milk and fold it in until batter is evenly combined.
• STEP 7). Bake. Gently scrape the batter into the pan over the pears and spread it out evenly. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cake is evenly browned and it feels firm to the touch. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Once cool, invert the cake onto a serving plate and peel of the parchment. Drizzle with salted caramel sauce before serving.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Cool the brown butter. Once you've just finished making brown butter, it will be VERY hot since it is pure oil that has been heated to a boiling point. It needs to cool down to make the cake batter, otherwise the finished cake will have a greasy crumb texture. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before making this recipe.
• Use room temperature ingredients. Since this is a simple melt-and-mix method, it is important to have all ingredients at the same temperature (not cold!) in order to help them blend evenly together. Make sure the milk is at room temperature since you need to mix it in at the end.
• Sift the dry ingredients. This is optional, but it will minimize the amount of mixing needed to combine the ingredients evenly so that you do not over-mix the batter. It will give you the best results for a finer texture crumb as well since the sieve will break up all the flour particles.
• Do not over-mix the batter. It's ok if there are a few streaks of flour remaining when you fold in the dry ingredients since the last step is to fold in the milk which will continue to incorporate all of the ingredients.
• Use ripe but firm pears. If your pears are overripe and very soft, they will have a mushy texture in the finished cake. It will still taste good, but it will hold up better if they are at the right stage of ripeness.

RECIPE FAQ

STORING AND FREEZING

If you love cake and fruit, check out these recipes!

Brown Butter Peach Crumb Cake Caramel Apple Cake

Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Cake Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf recipe Raspberry Almond Cake ULTIMATE Moist Chocolate Fudge Cake Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Lemon Curd Frosting Creamy Raspberry Cheesecake Sticky Toffee Date Cake Moist Lemon Blueberry Bread Olive Oil Chocolate Bundt Cake Blueberry Peach Upside Down Cake Blueberry Swirl Lemon Loaf Cake

More simple cake recipes

Looking for more delicious cake recipes? Try these:

Baking with fruit

Craving more fruity bakes? Check out these recipes: