Gingerbread Pear Upside-Down Cake with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Yield: 6-8 servings
Active time: 30 minutes
Start to finish:  1 hour, 30 minutes

For the topping:
3 semi ripe pears
½ stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For the cake:
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup molasses (preferably mild)
1 cup boiling water
1 stick butter, softened
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
Bourbon Caramel Sauce (recipe below)

1. Peel the pears and cut into 8 wedges.
2. Heat a 10 inch seasoned cast iron pan over medium heat and add the butter. Cook until melted and then sprinkle the brown sugar over the bottom of the skillet and cook, without stirring, for about 3 minutes. It’s ok if not all of the sugar has melted.
3. Arrange pears decoratively over sugar and cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°.
5. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a bowl.
6. Whisk together molasses and boiling water in a small bowl.
7. Beat together the butter, brown sugar and egg in a large bowl with a handheld mixer until creamy, about 2 minutes. Alternately mix in the flour mixture and molasses in 3 batches at low speed until smooth.
8. Pour the batter over the pears, spreading evenly and being careful not to disturb the pears, and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes.
9. Cool the cake in skillet for 5 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edge of the skillet, then invert onto a large plate.  Replace any pears that stick to skillet.
10. Serve warm or at room temperature drizzled with the Bourbon Caramel Sauce.

Bourbon Caramel Sauce

Yield: 1 cup
Active time: 25 minutes
Start to finish: 25 minutes

3/4 cup sugar
¼ cup water
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons bourbon
3/4 cup heavy cream
½ cup pecans, toasted and rough chopped
Pinch of salt

1. Swirl together the water and sugar in a sauce pan with a very clean spoon. Simmer gently until the sugar caramelizes into a deep amber.
2. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Be careful because the butter will create a lot of steam.
3. Whisk in the bourbon and heavy cream. The caramel will seize up but continue to whisk the caramel over low heat until smooth again.
4. Whisk in the pecans and salt and serve with the bread pudding.

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