PEAR AND GINGER UPSIDE DOWN CAKE ~ VERSION 2

Good Afternoon to you,

I am so sorry that I have not been posting as regularly as I used to, but to be honest, with all the changes which Google have made, I have become a little dispirited. Disappointingly, it seems that my 1,300 Google+ friends have simply disappeared into thin air.  I started using Google+ because like many, I assumed it was the way forward and I didn't want to be left behind, but it was obviously a mistake.  After all the hard work I have put into Ivy, Phyllis and Me! my lovely friends have disappeared.

I also discovered it was becoming difficult to leave comments on the blogs which I love to read and it was the same for friends who visited me.  So I unintentionally took a little break.... but I have returned until I decide what to do.

In the meantime, if you would like to see what I get up to on Instagram, pop over and visit me.  I have added the Instagram button to the top right hand corner of Ivy Phyllis and Me!  I think you will be surprised as to what you find there. I look forward to seeing you soon.

So what shall we do today?

I was thinking, that as I have been writing Ivy, Phyllis and Me! since 2012, it would be a good time to reflect on some of the recipes which I have shared with you over the years and also to update you on  any changes I have made to the recipe.

The recipe I thought we could look back on today, is very much a favourite,

Pear and Ginger Upside Down Cake.  I had decided to make Mr B a cake as we had been very good and abstained from sweet things during the month of January.  I also decided in February to use the contents of my store cupboard and freezer.  The only foods I shopped for, was milk, fresh fruit and vegetables and I have to tell you I saved a lot of money.

So once Mr B agreed that he would love a Pear and Ginger Upside Down Cake, I gathered my ingredients,

but I discovered I did not have any light brown sugar which I used in the original recipe which you will find here. So I decided to use Demerara sugar instead, and do you know I preferred the texture of the cake made with Demerara sugar.

I love when happy accidents occur.  If I had not run out of light brown sugar, I probably would never have used Demerara.

.... and this time I used the correct cake tin.... if you click on the original recipe, you will see that I had a brainstorm and decided to use a different cake tin, one which had a fluted edge.  It seemed a good idea at the time, but what I hadn't accounted for in my haste to create a perfect edge to the cake, was that the cake tin was too shallow.... oh dear.  So I lost a little depth to the cake.  It was not a catastrophe, because the cake was lovely.... but this time around the cake has a lovely depth to it.

I also discovered, that the following day, the flavour of the cake had developed even further.

I think you will get an idea of the texture of this cake by this closeup which I took.

When I asked Mr B what he thought about this new version of Pear Upside Down Cake,

he said he loved it and surprisingly that he preferred Version 2 of the cake.

So if you decide to make this cake, try adding Demerara (dark brown sugar) to the cake instead of light brown sugar and let me know what you think.

The other thing I discovered was that in my new oven, this cake took 1 hour and 30 minutes to bake, whereas in my previous oven it only took an hour.  So I would say keep an eye on your cake after an hour of baking.

I have also decided to leave the step by step instructions on how to make this cake as my Featured post, so if you prefer, you can click on the Featured post and it will take you straight to the recipe.

Take care and I will catch up with you next week.

As Always,