This recipe was recently given to me in a cookbook that my Aunt Suzy made for me for my birthday. The cookbook is called “Three Aunts and a Mom,” and is a compilation of recipes from-you guessed it-three of my aunts and my mom. It’s all sweets (of course, it was made for me!), and they are tried-and-true favorites. Most of them I grew up with, but some are favorites of theirs that I have never had. This particular recipe is a favorite of my mom’s friend Val, and it is Dee-Lish! And beautiful, too. 
Pear Upside-Down Gingerbread Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
3 peeled small pears, cored and cut lengthwise into 1/4″ thick slices (about 1 lb.)
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger, divided in half
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 lg egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp powdered sugar
Combine pears, 1 tbsp ginger and lemon juice. sprinkle the pan with 2 tbsp granulated sugar. Arrange pears in bottom of pan in circular pattern.
Cream brown sugar and butter in a large bowl. Beat in eggs. Add buttermilk, molasses and 1 tbsp of the ginger and beat until well blended.
Lightly spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (I whisked them together). Add flour mixture to batter and stir until well blended. Pour over pears. Bake for 40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pan on wire rack for 2 minutes.
Place a plate sprinkled with powdered sugar upside down on top of cake pan and invert. (you may need to tap it a few times)
SWEET and savory 