This pear gingerbread upside down cake is such a seasonal and flavorful treat! Sweet pears balance out the spicy gingerbread in the most delicious way.  Plus, read all about my trip to Birmingham, to tour the Southern Living Idea House and Time, Inc. test kitchens! 

Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake- oh my! So many gorgeous flavors going on here. I really loved the way the sweet, brown-sugary pears balanced out the spiciness of the gingerbread. A winner of a winter dessert, for sure! food desserts cake #ad @southernliving

This is a sponsored post, written by me and created in partnership with Delta Faucets and Time, Inc.  All opinions expressed herein are straight from my heart.

Good Sunday morning!

I know I usually don’t put up posts on the weekend, but I just couldn’t let this one wait a second longer!

This pear gingerbread upside down cake really knocked our socks off.  So perfect for this time of year.

Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake- oh my! So many gorgeous flavors going on here. I really loved the way the sweet, brown-sugary pears balanced out the spiciness of the gingerbread. A winner of a winter dessert, for sure! food desserts cake #ad @southernliving

The spicy gingerbread cake is moist and full of warm, wintry flavor, and the sweet caramelized pears balance it out in the most delicious way.  I can’t wait to share the recipe with you!

But first, I want to fill you in on my recent trip to Birmingham, Alabama.

This is going to be a doozy of a post!  I’m about to tell you all about my tour of the Southern Living Idea Home, the Time, Inc. Test Kitchens, and my brand new Delta Touch2O® faucet (that I am in love with!), but if you’re just here for the recipe, I get it.  Click *this link* to jump ahead to the Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake recipe card.

The Southern Living Idea House:

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Have you heard about the Idea House before?  I had read all about it in Southern Living magazine, and was so super excited to get the invite to come see it in person!

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Each room was prettier than the last.  This is the gorgeous, center hall entry.  Isn’t it so welcoming?

The layout is split down the middle by this airy, open foyer and stair, so on one side is the dining room and kitchen, and on the other is a living room and master suite.

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I loved the formal, very traditional vibe of the dining room, and the color scheme was so pretty.

The kitchen had a completely different feel, with bright Kelly green on all the cabinetry, and cool black and white accents.

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Tricked out with Delta Touch2O® faucets, of course!  More on those later.

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Beyond the kitchen was a family room, perfect for hanging out and playing games, and a bold and sleek powder room that had my name written all over it!

I just love that color scheme.  In fact, I’ve got a little sitting room in my own house that looks very similar.  I’m thinking after the holidays I might do a virtual house tour.  How would you like to see my digs?

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But let’s stay on track with the Southern Living Idea House for now.  This is the living room I was telling you about, on the opposite side of the house.

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So bright and airy!  Don’t you just love all the built-ins and custom trim work?

And here’s a peek into that downstairs master:

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It was such a treat to tour this beautiful home!

Front exterior

(photo credit)

The Time, Inc. Food Studios:

After wrapping up at the Idea House, we were whisked away to see the Time, Inc. Food Studios.

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Time, Inc. is responsible for so many of my favorite magazines and books: Southern Living, Cooking Light, Food and Wine, and In Style, just to name a few.  These kitchens are where all the recipes get created and perfected!  Can you imagine having a space like this to work in?

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Food stylists making magic on a shoot…

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… and holy moly!  This is the prop closet that dreams are made of!

We wrapped up our time at the food studios, and were given a lovely parting gift that included this new book from Time, Inc.’s publishing house, Oxmoor House:

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The Southern Cake Book!  How absolutely perfect.  I flipped through it on the plane ride home, and the minute I saw it, I knew I would be recreating the pear gingerbread upside down cake featured in the “Sunday Afternoon Cakes” chapter.

Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake- oh my! So many gorgeous flavors going on here. I really loved the way the sweet, brown-sugary pears balanced out the spiciness of the gingerbread. A winner of a winter dessert, for sure! food desserts cake #ad @southernliving

Ta-dah!  I started with an easy brown sugar and butter caramel, and poured into the bottom of a springform pan.  Then, the thin slices of fresh pear are arranged on top, in a starburst design.  The spicy gingerbread cake batter gets poured on top and when it’s baked, cooled, and flipped out onto a serving platter, you have the loveliest seasonal winter cake ever.

The Delta Touch2O Faucet:

This post was a long time in the making!  I arrived back home from Birmingham over a month ago, and found a Delta Touch2O® faucet of my very own, waiting on the doorstep.  You may remember I’ve mentioned a few times lately that my kitchen has been in an uproar, with contractors coming in and out nearly every day.  It took some time to get it all photo-ready, but we just said goodbye to the tile setter on Monday, and I was finally able to snap some pretty pics of the new faucet, in our new kitchen, with the new counters and new sink!

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Hallelujah!  I am so thrilled with the way it all came out.  After the holidays, I want to dedicate a whole post to my new, dream kitchen, but for now let’s just talk about the faucet.

I am in love with it.  The sleek, modern lines, the tall curve, and that gorgeous, on-trend Champagne Bronze finish.  And best of all: it’s touch activated!  You know how that goes: just when your hands are all covered in dough, you need to turn the faucet, right?  Well, there’s no need to dirty everything up in order to make that happen.  Just touch it anywhere, and on it goes.

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This amazing Touch2O® technology has saved me tons of time over the last week!  Not only does it speed up my workflow in the kitchen, but I spend way less time wiping and polishing the faucet.  After I clean it, it actually stays clean!

If you’re in need of a new faucet, I highly recommend checking out the Trinsic® Single Handle Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet with Touch2O® Technology.  It’s what I have and I adore it.

And if you’re in need of a sweet & spicy Sunday afternoon cake, I highly recommend this pear gingerbread upside down cake!

Thanks for hanging in through this long post!  I hope it was a bright spot in your Sunday.

Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake- oh my! So many gorgeous flavors going on here. I really loved the way the sweet, brown-sugary pears balanced out the spiciness of the gingerbread. A winner of a winter dessert, for sure! food desserts cake #ad @southernliving

Love pear desserts? Be sure to follow my “Apples & Pears” Pinterest board!

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Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake

Servings: 10 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
This pear gingerbread upside down cake is such a seasonal and flavorful treat! Sweet pears balance out the spicy gingerbread in the most delicious way.

Ingredients

For the caramel pear topping

  • 1/4 cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter, (half a stick), melted
  • 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar,, firmly packed
  • 2 medium pears,, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

For the gingerbread cake

Instructions
 

To make the caramel pear topping:

  • Mist a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick spray.
  • In a small bowl, stir the melted butter and brown sugar together.  
  • Spread the mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan.  
  • Arrange pear slices over the caramel, in a starburst pattern.

To make the gingerbread cake:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Place the butter in a medium mixing bowl, and pour the boiling water over it.  Allow to stand, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted.  
  • Stir in the brown sugar, molasses, and egg until combined.
  • Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and stir together until incorporated.  
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.  
  • Cool for 10 to 20 minutes, then remove the sides of the springform and invert onto a serving platter.

Notes

Recipe inspired by the Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake with Beer-Braised Pears, from Oxmoor House's The Southern Cake Book.
Gingerbread cake (barely) adapted from Epicurious. ©Baking a Moment
Calories: 392kcal, Carbohydrates: 65g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 52mg, Sodium: 254mg, Potassium: 378mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 48g, Vitamin A: 460IU, Vitamin C: 1.6mg, Calcium: 87mg, Iron: 2.1mg
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert, Snack
Tried this recipe?Mention @bakingamoment on Instagram or tag #bakingamoment.
Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake- oh my! So many gorgeous flavors going on here. I really loved the way the sweet, brown-sugary pears balanced out the spiciness of the gingerbread. A winner of a winter dessert, for sure! food desserts cake #ad @southernliving