I did it! I finally baked something that tastes amazing. I can’t believe how easy it was too.

Allow me back up a little. I am getting ahead of myself. A few days ago, we went to California to visit my mom and stepdad. On our way home, we decided to drive through Piru. We used to live in Piru many years ago. We loved it there. Our house was nestled in three acres of orange groves. We also had fig trees and fields of fresh herbs. You can imagine how delighted I was to have all of this surrounding our home.

You wouldn’t believe how heavenly the air smelled when the orange trees were blossoming. The house came with two german shepherds. Come to think of it, that is the second time in my life that I lived in a house, which came with two german shepherds. Weird. When I was five, my mom and I lived in a house in Topanga Canyon, California. The house came with two german shepherds and a Weimaraner. That is a story for another time.

Anyway, we loved living in Piru amongst the trees. It was fun driving through and reminiscing.

Just outside the town, on the highway, there is an amazing fruit market. On our way through the area the other day, we stopped to buy some fresh fruit to bring back to Las Vegas. We don’t have much local fruit and vegetables here in Las Vegas. The farmer’s markets around here are filled with booths of salsas, toffee, jams, hummus, and other artisanal delights. I love buying all of these treats, but some fresh vegetables and fruits would be so nice. It is just difficult to grow these in the middle of the desert. So, we were delighted to buy lots of produce at the Piru fruit market.

I bought oranges, avocados, cashews, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and pears. We munched on these the whole way back to Vegas.

Yesterday, I looked at all of the bowls of fruit sitting on my kitchen counter and decided I needed to make something out of these before they go bad. We may have gone overboard. The pears were already looking soft. So, I looked into pear recipes. There is a pear recipe I would like to try. I saw it on the Great British Baking Show. On the show, the contestants had to make their own puff pastry, which I don’t think I would ever do. I would just buy it. The pears are poached and then wrapped in puff pastry before they bake in the oven.

Claud wasn’t impressed with the idea of poached pears. Also, I am still nervous to attempt recipes from that show. So, I started looking through my cookbooks and came across this simple cake idea. It is a pear upside down cake. I have made pineapple upside down cake in the past with some success. So, I thought this should be a cinch.

You know what? It actually was. There are very few ingredients. The prep work takes about 15 minutes to do. Then, you just wait for it to bake in the oven. The only thing that made me nervous was wondering if I would be able to tip it out of the pan without making a huge mess. Claud told me to make sure it was completely cooled before I attempted to do this. So, I took the cake out of the oven and we headed to our local bar for a drink while it cooled. When I returned, I tipped it out onto a cutting board. It came right out without any hesitation and in one piece. I was so excited. I cut us each a slice. The cake was light and fluffy and not too sweet. The pears were amazing too. I was so proud of myself. I think this might be a new go-to recipe for dessert at my dinner parties. I always forget the dessert and end up running out to buy something last minute. Now, with this totally simple cake, I will be able to whip one of these up without question. I can’t wait to bake something else. I just may be a baker after all.

Pear Upside Down Cake:

Time: 50 minutes

Serves: 8

4 Pears

2/3 cup flour

pinch of salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar, sifted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. In another medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs. Slowly add sugar to the eggs and continue whisking. Slowly pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and keep whisking. Mix in the butter. Set aside. Peel and core the pears. Slice them 1/4 inch thick. Grease a cake pan. Place the pear slices on the bottom of the cake pan. Pour the batter over the pears. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow the cake to cool. Gently turn it over and tap on the pan until it comes out. Sprinkle with sifted sugar.