Inspired by my pineapple upside down cake and apple upside down cake recipes, this boldly spiced upside down pear gingerbread cake combines your favorite holiday spices with juicy pears, brown sugar caramel sauce, and whipped cream. Serving warm brings out the flavors AND makes this a quick holiday dessert.
I’m convinced you need no other cake this holiday season. Although my cranberry pecan Christmas cake would be a close second.
Today I’m serving you boldly spiced gingerbread with buttery brown sugar soaked pears and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. There’s plenty of ginger, plenty of cinnamon, plenty of pears, and absolutely zero apologies. Ready to indulge?
I have the pleasure of working with Harry & David on two recipes this holiday season—both highlighting their hand-picked Royal Riviera pears. These buttery pears steal the attention no matter which dish, dessert, or spread they’re in. Cranberry Pear Crumble Pie, shared just the other week, is no exception. The cranberries and brown sugar crumble are both fantastic, but the high quality pears win 1st place. Their texture is unbeatable and dare I say that pie beats all other Thanksgiving pies!! Even you, pumpkin pie.
How to Make Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake
I’m especially excited about this recipe because I used my gingerbread cake as the base, both a personal and reader favorite.
There are 3 parts to Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake.
- Pears
- Brown sugar caramel sauce
- Gingerbread
Peel and slice your pears, then tightly line them up in your cake pan. Don’t skimp on pears here—they’ll cook down, so the more the better. We’ll layer a brown sugar butter sauce on top. Melt butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together on the stove, then pour all over the pears. This will be the TOP of your upside-down pear gingerbread; consider it the cake’s built-in frosting. 😉
The gingerbread cake is soft, moist, and robust—the virtual opposite of any dry or bland gingerbreads you’ve had before. It’s made with the best ingredients in your pantry: molasses, brown sugar, ginger, cloves, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. If this cake doesn’t scream HAPPY HOLIDAYS, I’m not sure what does.
A Sticky Situation!
One special note about this gingerbread batter: hot water. It’s an odd ingredient in cake, but there’s a reason for its addition. Molasses is very thick and very sticky. Its consistency makes it very difficult to seamlessly mix into cake batter. When mixed with hot water, its viscous consistency loosens. Problem solved, cake success.
Spread the gingerbread batter over the pear topping.
You can bake this gingerbread in a variety of cake pans. My directions for varying pan sizes are in the recipe notes below. Whichever size pan you use, the trick to upside-down cakes is to let them cool for only 10-20 minutes before inverting over. Once flipped over, lift the baking pan straight up to reveal all those luscious pears. A topping is so good, it glistens!
I recommend serving this cake warm. Serving warm not only brings out the flavor, but it cuts down on the total time this dessert takes. QUICK is always welcomed when you’re entertaining. Compared to most holiday desserts, this is literally a cake-walk.
Serve the upside down gingerbread cake with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Cool and creamy always balances warm and spiced. Plus, you can’t have holiday dessert without an accessory on top. 🙂
Pear Gingerbread in summary:
- Pineapple upside down cake but with holiday flavor
- Spicy, moist, flavorful gingerbread
- Brown sugar caramel sauce
- QUICK cake compared to others
- Whipped cream!!
If you love pear recipes, be sure to try my easy maple baked pears, too.
More Gingerbread Recipes
Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 9-12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This boldly spiced upside-down pear gingerbread cake combines your favorite holiday spices with juicy pears, brown sugar caramel sauce, and cool whipped cream. Serving warm brings out the flavors AND makes this a quick holiday dessert.
Ingredients
Topping
- 4 firm medium pears
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Gingerbread Cake
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (180ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 3/4 cup (180ml) hot water (about 100°F (38°C))
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- for serving: whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Prepare the topping: Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Peel, core, and slice pears into 1/8-inch thick slices. Tightly layer the pears in the prepared pan, as pictured above. Set aside.
- Whisking constantly, heat the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once butter has melted, vigorously whisk to ensure the butter is not separating from the brown sugar. Once it comes together (it will, keep whisking!), pour evenly over pears.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together. Set aside. Whisk the molasses and hot water together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer off and add the dry ingredients and molasses/water. Turn the mixer on low and mix just until combined. The batter will be a little thick.
- Carefully pour/spread batter on top of pears. Bake for around 35-45 minutes or until the cake is baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If you notice the edges or top browning too quickly, tent the cake with aluminum foil.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then invert cake onto a serving plate. Cake will be moist! Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare the topping in the baking pan, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. It’s best to serve this cake right away; not ideal for making ahead.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Vegetable Peeler | Saucepan | Whisk | Glass Mixing Bowls | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula
- Variety of Cake Sizes: Use a 9-inch square pan, 9-inch deep dish round pan (2 inch depth at least), 9-inch or 10-inch cast iron skillet, or an 11×7-inch baking pan. Bake time is around the same. Do not use a springform pan—topping will leak.
I have a lot of pears so of course the first place I look for a recipe to use them up is Sally’s!! Do you think this cake can be baked in muffin liners for individual portions?
Hi Ann, we haven’t tested it, but we can’t see why not! We’re unsure of the exact bake time, so keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
Hi Sally, I have a problem !!!! I made your Gingerbread Pear Upside cake and it tastes out of this world delish, But for some reason the cake turned out like raw batter ! I had it in my oven for 45 minutes, but for some reason it did not bake into a cake !!! Its all runny ! I am not sure what the heck I did wrong ????? The flavor is amazing, and its such a bummer that it will not bake into a cake !!! 45 minutes of baking and the batter runs like liquid !!! I have no idea what I could have done wrong ???? The only thing that may have ruined it was that I used Almond flour instead of regular flour, do you think that could have caused this cake to come out like raw batter after 45 minutes in the Oven? Please let me know ! I was going to serve this for dessert for a very special friend tomorrow, but I will just have to skip dessert tomorrow ! I will not let this go to waste and I will eat it like a runny pudding, just because I cant afford to waste food but I am soooo bummed it didn’t turn out !!! I wonder if its my oven going out, because I followed the recipe exactly except I used Almond Flour instead of the regular white flour !!! Please let me know what I may have done wrong because I will not give up ! This cake has an amazing flavor, but I need it to come out right !!! Please let me know !
Hi Lisa, Thank you for trying this recipe and we are glad you enjoyed the flavor. Almond flour as it has very different baking properties and will not bake the same as all purpose flour, so this is likely the culprit here. If you wish to try it again we recommend sticking with all purpose flour.
Just finished baking this cake. It came out of the oven beautifully and toothpick was clean as a whistle. Let it sit for 12 minutes and turned it out onto a platter. Continued to look perfect. Now about 30 minutes later the middle is sinking. What did I do wrong??
Hi Diane, have you cut into the cake yet? How is the texture? Some sinking is normal as it cools, so if the toothpick was clean, you didn’t necessarily do anything wrong!
Cut into cake. Center not baked. I baked it 35 minutes. Don’t understand why the toothpick came out clean. Will bake longer next time. Made for dinner party. Friends loved it.
This was an excellent dessert for Christmas Day. It had very good gingerbread flavour. It was quick and easy to make, not too sweet or heavy. I discovered I had no ground ginger and successfully substituted minced ginger (2 Tablespoons) I will definitely make it again.
Is it possible to reduce the sugar content with either the brown sugar or molasses? I understand this would change the flavor but would it change the texture or results as well?
Hi Jena, reducing the molasses and or sugar would change the overall taste and texture of the cake. We recommend sticking with the recipe as written for best results.
Can I use a bundt pan to make this recipe?
Hi Sylvie, there is not enough batter here for a Bundt pan and unfortunately, we haven’t tested it in a larger quantity to know how best to scale it. Let us know if you decide to do any experimenting!
Are the pears supposed to be ripe? The recipe says firm, but a lot of the commenters say they used ripe pears.
Hi SH, we prefer to use firm pears for best texture.
Holy cow. I am admittedly not a great baker but somehow I didn’t mess this up. It’s ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. The pears on the bottom are gooey and caramelly and the cake is the perfect density and moist. I’m making this again, my new secret treat!
Are the molasses absolutely necessary? Can something else replace them?
Hi Joy, molasses gives this cake its signature gingerbread flavor and unfortunately there isn’t a suitable replacement that will give it the same flavor. You might enjoy this caramel apple upside down cake instead (swapping the apples for pears).
Thank you, Sally. I’ve just read the apple one you suggest. It sounds like a slightly different take on a Tarte Tatin! I will go for this one instead of the pear. I did a search for a molasses substitute, and I thought maple syrup might work, but probably not, now that you’ve explained its importance.
The best thing I’ve ever eaten! Easy to make in a cast iron pan. Didn’t change a thing. Only baked for 25 minutes.
Do you think you could make this cake or your Apple upside down cake or pineapple upside down cake with another fruit, specifically persimmons?
Hi Brooke! I can’t see why not.
Ridiculously, amazingly good. Wow!
Excited to try this recipe. Making for a friend that cannot have cinnamon or clove, so not sure how it will change the flavor. She cannot eat many desserts in the Fall because of that. She loves ginger and pears so going to give this a try. Do you think I should increase the ginger some with no cinnamon or clove?
Hi Cheri, you can certainly omit the cinnamon and clove and increase the ginger a bit, knowing that the flavor profile will change. You could also try replacing the cinnamon/cloves with another warm spice, such as allspice, cardamom, and/or nutmeg. Let us know how it turns out for you!
Sally I love your recipes. They are always well tested, and come out perfect! I’d like to make this upside down gingerbread cake for Thanksgiving but am flummoxed with the last minute timing. Do you think I could mix and prepare the cake in the morning, then refrigerate it uncooked until dinner time? Then I could bake it while we are eating; so it would be ready and still warm for dessert after dinner. I just cant see pulling out my mixer after dinner with all the guests and other cooking mayhem. Also would it work in an 8×8 instead of 9×9?
Hi Sandy! Preparing batter like this ahead of time is really not best because the rising agents are activated when mixed, and the cake won’t rise properly when baked. See recipe Notes for our recommended make-ahead instructions and other pans you can use, an 8×8 will be too small.
Do you recommend lining the pan with parchment paper for easier release?
Hi Kat, you certainly can. It won’t have a negative effect on the cake at all.
Love this recipe! I might be making this again to serve with Christmas breakfast when family are visiting. This has a great flavor that makes a nice change from all the other sweets and cookies around the holidays.
Can this pear gingerbread cake be made the day before and then reheated in the microwave to serve to guests. As don’t want to be mixing while entertaining
Hi Michelle! See recipe notes for our recommendations: Prepare the topping in the baking pan, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. It’s best to serve this cake right away; not ideal for making ahead.
The whole family loved this one!
I am in love with this recipe! It tastes like autumn and presents beautifully. I brought it to a church function and it was a hit!
I didn’t see the note about not using black strap and that’s what I usually use, so I did and it turned out just great! Lovely and dense and the pear sauce was just delicious. This may in fact be my new favorite cake of all time. Yum!
Excited to try this recipe because your recipes have never let me down! I wasn’t able to purchase molasses for this recipe, what can I use instead? And I’m assuming that will change the amount of hot water needed.
Hi J Siva! Unfortunately, molasses (and ginger of course) is the main flavor in gingerbread. We recommend making this spice cake instead and using this pear topping. You may need a couple more pears since that recipe yields a 9×13 inch baking pan. The amount of brown sugar caramel sauce is enough. (The 1 Tbsp of molasses in that recipe is optional.) Let us know what you try!
Baked exactly as written and its perfect for holiday or anyday. I baked in a 9 inch square pan but needed to put on baking sheet about halfway through baking time to catch the overflow caramel bubbling through. Stores in fridge well and reheats in the microwave wonderfully. I will definitely make again and freeze an extra one for the holidays.
This is a delicious recipe! I layered the pears extra- thick because my pan was filled with just 2 and I wanted to use all 4! That caused the batter to need an extra 10 minutes of bake time. The cake turned out perfectly and looked beautiful as well! I will definitely make this again! Thank you for great recipes ! I often turn to yours when I’m looking for something special! Could you consider including nutritional information? That’s my only suggestion for “improvement”!
Have you tried subbing with gluten free flour blend? I have King Arthur measure for measure.
Hi Christy, we haven’t tested this cake with a gluten free flour blend, so we’re unsure of the exact results. Let us know if you give anything a try!