Upside-down or right-side-up, either way it's delicious!

We have some amazingly delicious, ripe and juicy pears sitting on our counter.  I walked past them a few days ago and the aroma made my tummy grumble and my mouth water.  It was watering for this fabulous dessert found a few years ago in a beloved cookbook, The Family Circle Cookbook.  This book has pictures of every single item in it.  That's what always lures me in, the picture.  That's why I've committed to always having a picture of what I post here and that picture will ALWAYS be of the foods I've baked or cooked.  Pictures really are worth a thousand words.  It made me wonder then, how many words are "tastes" worth?  I'd say at least 10 times that!!!

So try this winter dessert and let the loquaciousness begin!!!

Pear-Cranberry Upside-Down Cake 
Ingredients:
Topping
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 ripe pears, peeled, seeded & cut into halves or quarters
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
Cake:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
⅔ cup milk
⅓ cup unsalted butter, at room temp.
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Topping: Place butter in 9X9X2 inch square baking pan.
Place pan with butter in oven until butter melts.
Stir in brown sugar.
Arrange pears, rounded side down over sugar mixture.
Sprinkle cranberries between pears.
Cake: Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt in large bowl.
Beat in milk & butter until smoth
Beat in egg & vanilla until blended
Pour batter evening over fruit in baking pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes
Loosen cake from sides of pan by sliding a knife around the edges.
Place serving platter on top of baking dish and invert, let the glaze drop down sides of cake.

For printable version click here.