Caramelized Pear Upside down Cake

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter,

½ cup firmly packed like brown sugar

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

3 ripe but still firm pears, thinly sliced

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, very soft

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup flour

3 tbsp. cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, lightly butter the sides of a 9-inch round cake pan.

Combine the 4-tbsp. of butter, sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg in a small saucepan and heat to boiling, then remove from heat. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Arrange the pears over the butter mixture and press down.

Beat the 6-tbsp. of butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy, about a minute. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until very smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt, and beat 10 seconds, pour in the milk and beat just until the batter is evenly moistened, about one minute. Pour the batter over the pears then carefully lift the pan and bang back down on the counter once or twice to release any air bubbles.

Bake approximately 45 minutes or until a knife moves out clean, run a knife along the outer edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan, place a plate over the cake, then flip it over to invert the cake onto the pan, Let the cake cool completely before serving, Bester served the same day.