This luxurious pear upside-down cake is a cracking teatime bake (its top cracks so pleasingly) for friends coming over at ‘Twixtmas’ – the fun festive time between Christmas and New Year. The juiciness of the pears with the richness of the sponge make it cake perfection. Your tastebuds are pulled all over the place. Light / indulgent.

To serve 4 – 6 people, you will need:

3 large pears (or 4 smaller ones), cut in quarters.
2 ½ oz butter, softened
2 ½ oz brown sugar

6 oz (170g) butter, softened
6 oz golden caster sugar
6 oz self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
Half a teaspoon vanilla extract
2 free range eggs

Mix the 2 ½ oz butter with the brown sugar until it’s a creamy consistency and spread the mixture over the bottom of a large oven dish (and a little up the sides). This will stop the fruit from sticking to the dish.

Arrange the chopped pears over the mixture with the flat sides facing up.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

In a large bowl, mix the 6 oz softened butter with the 6 oz golden caster sugar, and whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, and whisk again, slowly.

Add the vanilla extract and stir. Sift in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder, and stir before whisking until it’s a smooth, creamy batter.

Spoon the cake mixture into the oven dish on top of, and around the pears, and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

When the cake is ready, turn it upside down onto a plate and very carefully hold it for a minute to allow the sugar mixture to drizzle over the sponge, before removing the dish completely.

Serve warm. Although it’s also absolutely delicious cold if you have any left over.