Triple Layer Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake with Mascarpone Frosting #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Quail & Olive.

Complimentary product was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.

However, all opinions expressed here are my own.

I have been making this upside-down pear gingerbread cake for years! Probably seventeen years. But this is the first time they asked if I could stack them. And add some cream cheese frosting. Ummm...okay. I only had mascarpone in my fridge, so I used that.

This cake is made moist with the addition of olive oil and sour cream. For this version, I opted to use the Taggiasca Olive Oil from The Quail & Olive*. The Taggiasca olive comes, originally, from the Liguria region of Italy. That was an area I never visited in the thirteen months I lived in Italy; I will have to remedy that if when the world ever opens back up. But it was the hint of spice in the oil - cinnamon really - that made me think of adding it to a gingerbread cake. And I polished off the bottle of cardamom infused Runamok maple syrup that I got in the pantry section of The Quail & Olive, too. Time for another visit!!

Ingredients makes one triple layer 6" cake

Cake

• 8 small organic pears, destemmed and halved
• butter for greasing the pans
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup organic dark brown sugar plus 3 Tablespoons for the pans
• 1/2 C maple syrup (I used the cardamom infused Runamok maple syrup)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil (I used the Taggiasca Olive Oil from The Quail & Olive)
• Also needed: three 6" baking pans

Frosting

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/3 cup mascarpone
• 1-1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
• juice from one organic lemon (I used a Meyer lemon)

Procedure

Butter your baking pans (I used three 6" pans) and sprinkle 1 Tablespoon brown sugar over the bottom of each pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In the meantime, swab a skillet with butter and place pears - halved and destemmed - cut-side down in the pan. Let pears cook till the cut surface begins to brown slightly, approximately 5 to 6 minutes.

Arrange pears, cut side down on top of the brown sugar in the pans. 

Blend all other ingredients to form a batter. Pour over pears. Place in the preheated oven and bake until cake is a deep brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. 

Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. 

Invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely. In the meantime, make the frosting.

Frosting
Place all of the ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Beat until well combined and smooth.

Assembly

Place one layer on a serving plate. Spread a layer of frosting and spread it to the edges. Place the second layer on top, then add frosting to the top and the sides. Repeat with the third layer. Now this layer, I left naked on the top so you could see the upside-down pears.

Spread the frosting smoothly over the sides. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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*Disclosure: I receive compensation in the form of complimentary products for recipe development 

and generating social media traction. All opinions are my own.