Honey thyme pear upside down

Step by step

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Place a large tin foil sheet on the rack below the one you’ll be using, to catch any bubbling juices while the cake is baking.

2. Make the caramel base. Melt butter in a saucepan on a medium high heat. Once melted, add the brown sugar and honey and gently whisk until sugar dissolves. Allow mixture to come to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for another minute.

3. Remove from heat, whisk and then spread evenly in a 22-24cm, round cake tin. Layer the pears in whatever pattern you like. Set aside.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs and honey in another small bowl.

5. Place the butter in your mixer bowl, fit the flat beater attachment to your mixer and cream the butter on speed 6 for one minute. Reduce speed to 4, and slowly pour in the granulated sugar. Once sugar is fully added, increase speed back to speed 6 and beat for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla.

6. Reduce mixer speed to 2 and add the flour mix to the butter and sugar in your mixer bowl, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mix. Beat just until blended after each addition. Spread the batter evenly over the pears.

7. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean. (If the cake has browned on top but is not cooked through, you can lightly cover with foil for remaining bake time.)

8. Remove cake from the oven and cool it on a wire rack for 5 minutes before inverting the cake onto a rimmed plate (to catch the juices) and releasing it. Can be served warm, or cooled.