Maple Pear Upside Down Cake

 I love Mark Bittman's recipes.  Delicious and perfect for the Fall overload of pears.  Note to self: I used a new springform pan and didn't realize the caramel had leaked out of the bottom of the pan until I removed the cake from the oven.  What to do?  Drizzled the warm cake with maple syrup.  And, the next time I bake this cake, I will use a different,"tried and true" pan- lol

To serve 8 to 10.

INGREDIENTS

11  tablespoons      butter

¾  cup                    maple syrup

¼  cup                    packed brown sugar

3 to 4                     pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

¾  cup                   granulated sugar

1  teaspoon           vanilla

2  large                  eggs

1 ½  cups              flour

1 ½  teaspoons     baking powder

¼  teaspoon          salt

½  cup                   milk

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small pan over medium heat; add maple syrup and brown sugar and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook for another 2 minutes; remove from heat and set aside. When mixture has cooled a bit, pour it into a 9-inch baking pan and arrange pear slices in an overlapping circle on top.

With a handheld or standing mixer, beat remaining 8 tablespoons butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, one egg at a time, continuing to mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with milk; do not overmix. Carefully spread batter over pears, using a spatula to make sure it is evenly distributed. Bake until top of cake is golden brown and edges begin to pull away from sides of pan, about 45 to 50 minutes; a toothpick inserted into center should come out clean. Let cake cool for 5 minutes.

Run a knife around edge of pan; put a plate on top of cake and carefully flip it so plate is on bottom and pan is on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.