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Whole pear honey upside down cake on a marble surface with glossy caramelized pear slices and dripping honey glaze

Pear Honey Upside Down Cake: Sticky, Golden, Simple

A one-pan cake with a honey-caramelized pear top and a soft vanilla crumb, flipped warm onto a plate.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 340
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Honey Pear Topping
  • 60 g unsalted butter melted
  • 90 g honey light, mild honey
  • 3 pears medium; peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
Cake Batter
  • 200 g all-purpose flour
  • 100 g granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon optional
  • 2 eggs large; room temperature
  • 120 ml whole milk
  • 60 g unsalted butter melted and cooled
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
 

Prep the Pan and Pears
  1. Heat oven to 180 C / 350 F. Set a rack in the center.
  2. Melt 60 g butter with honey in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Pour into a 9-inch round cake pan and swirl to coat the bottom.
  3. Arrange pear slices over the honey butter in a circular, slightly overlapping pattern.
Make the Batter
  1. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
  2. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth.
  3. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain. Don't overmix or the crumb turns tough.
Bake and Flip
  1. Pour batter over the pears and spread it evenly to the edges.
  2. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, with an internal temp around 93 C / 200 F.
  3. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert onto a plate while still warm.

Notes

  • Use a pan with sides at least 2 inches deep so the honey glaze doesn't overflow.
  • Don't skip patting pear slices dry, extra moisture leads to a soggy top layer.
  • Flip onto a plate with a rim, the honey glaze runs as it cools.
  • Toothpick should come out clean from the center, not just the edges.