Honey & Pear Upside Cake

This time of year the pear trees are engorged with their sweet fruit.  There seems to be an abundance this year, and every magazine I open has a recipe or two incorporating pears.  I wanted in on this bandwagon, so here you are.  A wonderful 8" single layer upside down cake with pears as the star!  There are so many wonderful ingredients in this recipe, you will want to drop everything and run to the store so you can get back and put it together right away.  I was dying to get it done so I could bite into it, hoping it tasted as good as it sounds and looks.  It did not disappoint!

Ingredients:
1/2 C Honey
1/3 C butter, melted
2 T light corn syrup
2 Tsp lemon zest
4 Tsp juice from a fresh squeezed lemon
1/2 C chopped pecans
2 Ripe Bartlett pears, peeled & chopped into 1/2" chunks
1 1/2 C old fashioned rolled oats
1 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C chopped pecans (in addition to the 1/2 c listed above)
1 Tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1/2 Tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 C buttermilk
4 T butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease an 8-9" cake pan or cast iron skillet.  I used a skillet.  Set aside. In a small bowl combine the honey, 1/3 C melted butter, corn syrup, lemon zest & juice. Stir in the first 1/2 chopped pecans.  Pour into prepared cake pan and top evenly with chopped pears.

Place oats in a blender or food processor and process until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in flour, brown sugar, 2nd 1/2 C of chopped pecans, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Make a well in the center.

In another bowl combine eggs, buttermilk, 4 T of melted butter & vanilla.  Pour egg mixture into well in flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Pour batter over pears and spread evenly.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Immediately invert onto a plate and scrape an remaining honey mixture over the cake.

Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.
*Serve with sweetened whipped cream sprinkled with fresh grated nutmeg, if desired.

This recipe was adapted from the Honey-Glazed Buttermilk Coffee Cake recipe featured in the Better Homes & Garden Fall Baking publication.