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Ginger Pear Upside Down Cake Recipe with Lime Zest

22 Comments

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Ginger pear upside down cake recipe with lime zest is an easy, healthy dessert recipe with ginger and pears. Lime zest, fresh ginger- an easy cake for anytime.

Upside down pear cake before cutting on white plate.

I discovered this gem while searching for a healthy dessert cake. Ginger Pear Upside Down Cake with Lime Zest, this recipe uses a small amount of light olive oil (rather than butter or large amounts of vegetable oil); the buttermilk and cake flour help give it a light, moist texture. Fresh pears and ginger with the lime zest are just meant to be together!

Anjou Pears

Use bartlett or anjou pears. Both are great for cooking, but I prefer these anjou beauties because they don’t overripen as quickly as the bartlett, allowing me several days before preparing my recipe. I have made this cake with both varieties. The bartlett pear is known to break down easier into a kind of paste. After baking, I have found both pears equally delicious in the cake.

Cake before being cut on white plate. Pear slices on top.

Delicious and pretty but relatively guilt-free. Ginger Pear Upside Down Cake with Lime Zest has just 190 calories per serving, 5g total fat (1g saturated fat). 20g sugar (part of this is amount is natural sugar from the pears). Pears provide soluble fiber and vitamin C while ginger is great for digestion. But you won’t be thinking about any of that while enjoying the warm, spicy richness of this cake.

Ginger Pear Cake slice on plate

If you like this recipe, be sure to try out my Upside Down Cranberry Cake, or Delicious Spiced Pear Oatmeal recipe.

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5 from 4 votes

Ginger-Pear Upside-Down Cake with Lime Zest

Just 190 calories per serving, 5g total fat (1g saturated fat). 20g sugar (part of this is amount is natural sugar from the pears). Pears provide soluble fiber and vitamin C while ginger is great for digestion. But you won’t be thinking about any of that while enjoying the warm, spicy richness of this cake.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 205
Author Good Dinner Mom

Ingredients 

  • 2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar, You may increase this amount if you want the glaze even more intense
  • 3 firm-ripe Bartlett or Anjou Pears
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger and juice
  • 1 ¼ cups cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¾ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • 3 Tablespoons light olive oil
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • Lime Zest from one Lime, grated
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract
  • 1 large Egg plus 1 large Egg White
  • ¾ cup Buttermilk

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9-inch round nonstick cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle brown 2 Tablespoons sugar over bottom, coating evenly.
  • Peel, core, and halve 3 pears. Slice pears crossswise into ⅓-inch-thick slices. Evenly spread pears in pan, covering bottom of pan.
  • Grate teaspoon (or more, to liking) fresh ginger and sprinkle evenly over pears, letting juice drip onto pears, as well.
  • In medium bowl, mix together 1 ¼ cups cake flour, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
  • In large bowl, using electric mixer, beat together 3 Tablespoons oil, ¾ cup sugar, lime zest, and 1 teaspoon coconut extract. Beat in whole egg and egg white until thick.
  • Now, turn off mixer and using a spatula, alternately fold flour mixture and ¾ cup buttermilk into egg mixture, until just blended.
  • Pour batter over pears, smoothing top to cover pears completely. For more fruit with every slice, leave out about ¾ cup of the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out nearly clean, about 30-35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cake cool in pan on rack for 8-10 minutes, then carefully run a knife around cake to loosen. Invert cake onto a platter. Let cool slightly before slicing.
Nutrition Facts
Ginger-Pear Upside-Down Cake with Lime Zest
Amount Per Serving
Calories 205 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Fat 5g8%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 2mg1%
Sodium 107mg5%
Potassium 132mg4%
Carbohydrates 38g13%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 23g26%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 45IU1%
Vitamin C 2.3mg3%
Calcium 43mg4%
Iron 0.3mg2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Ginger Pear Upside Down Cake is light, moist and "almost" guilt-free.

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    Cranberry Upside Down Cake with Ricotta Cream

Published on March 4, 2013

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    Recipe Rating




  1. trisha says

    May 13, 2022 at 7:22 AM

    5 stars
    AMAZING! Made this for a weekend treat for the family and they absolutely loved it! I think I like it better than the pineapple version lol Great recipe Sally, Thank You!

    Reply
  2. steph w says

    May 10, 2022 at 6:14 AM

    5 stars
    This was a knockout. Everyone loved it. I served it slightly warm with Real Cream Vanilla Ice cream and my family lost their minds. It’s an instant classic. Followed the recipe to a T. We are already planning to make it again this weekend for a family bbq. Thanks so much for the great recipe!

    Reply
  3. Nani says

    August 22, 2021 at 4:06 PM

    Love the spice ingredients with Asian Pears: ginger& lime with coconut oil (recommended!). Will try it soon! Has anyone had luck freezing the cake for a few months? Did it turn out well when thawed? Any precautions before freezing? TIA

    Reply
    • Sally Humeniuk says

      August 23, 2021 at 7:55 AM

      Hi Nani, This is one of my favorite easy cake recipes. I’ve never frozen it but I’m not sure if the pears might become very mushy after being frozen. If you do try this, just (of course) be sure to wrap very well to keep air out. Hope you try it, it’s a good one.

      Reply
  4. di says

    March 31, 2019 at 2:03 AM

    I tucked this recipe away several months ago, so i would find it when i had the time and some more pears.
    I actually made two, using square pans, added a bit extra ginger as well, and a good shake of cinnamon. They taste wonderful, baked up as described, and love the ev olive oil, extra egg white and lime zest.
    Moist, soft crumb, and a 2.5 inch sq is an adequate serving size. Will freeze a portion to see how that will work out. Thanks for the recipe as we try to keep good flavor in our foods without the excesses of fat, sugar, sodium etcetc.

    Reply
    • Sally Humeniuk says

      March 31, 2019 at 6:27 PM

      Di, That makes me so happy to hear! I love this recipe and I really appreciate you saving it for “several months” and then remembering to make it. Glad you liked it and thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Lisa says

    February 15, 2019 at 4:15 PM

    Looking forward to trying this cake! I don’t have “light” olive oil. Instead, I have regular olive oil, vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, and coconut oil. Which one of those would you suggest as a substitute? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Sally Humeniuk says

      February 15, 2019 at 7:38 PM

      Hi Lisa, I think anything except the regular olive oil would work fine and personally, I think the coconut oil would be fabulous! I’m looking forward to hearing how to like the recipe.

      Reply
  6. Jackie says

    August 19, 2018 at 11:22 PM

    5 stars
    This looks so moist and I Love these flavor combos! Pear and ginger together, yummy!

    Reply
  7. Kimberly CLOWARD says

    August 19, 2018 at 11:20 PM

    5 stars
    Oh my gosh!! This looks fantastic!! Can’t wait to try it!

    Reply
  8. Kit Sullivan says

    March 26, 2018 at 9:14 PM

    Can I make this with Fairlife lactose-free milk instead of buttermilk?

    Reply
    • Sally Humeniuk says

      March 27, 2018 at 2:38 AM

      Hi Kit, My son is lactose intolerant and I make my own buttermilk with lactose-free milk for every single recipe that calls for regular buttermilk and you cannot tell the difference. Yes, do it! 🙂

      Reply
  9. trish says

    August 21, 2017 at 12:02 PM

    Hello Karen,
    Has anyone had any luck freezing this cake?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Sally says

      August 21, 2017 at 4:37 PM

      Hi Trish, I’m quite sure it will freeze well, though I haven’t done it. I did some research and cooked pears should freeze and thaw very well. Won’t turn mushy or anything like that.

      Reply
  10. Karen says

    March 2, 2017 at 7:13 AM

    this looks a very tasty and healthy cake. i want to try and make it as a birthday cake/dessert for my husband’s birthday on March 10. If I bake it tomorrow, March 3, would it keep fresh in the fridge for a week without losing its taste, firmness, freshness, etc.? Thanks! Karen

    Reply
    • Sally says

      March 2, 2017 at 8:56 AM

      Hi Karen, I’ve never kept this cake for a week in the fridge but I think that might be a little too long especially with the moist cut pears. It would be fine for 3 or 4 days but after that I think it’ll get soggy and the pears will begin to break down.

      Reply
  11. Amy B says

    June 4, 2016 at 9:54 AM

    Hi! I see this recipe calls for 1 1/4 Cake Flour. I assume that is 1 1/4cups, but I wanted to confirm. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sally says

      June 4, 2016 at 2:55 PM

      Hi Amy, yes, you are correct. Thanks for catching that for me. Editing now. 🙂

      Reply
  12. Claire says

    November 12, 2015 at 11:25 PM

    Hi, I would love to try your recipe. I noticed that you only mentioned baking powder in the ingredients list, but mentioned both baking powder and baking soda under instructions. Are both required? If so, how much baking soda? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sally says

      November 12, 2015 at 11:28 PM

      Hi Claire, Thanks for catching that for me. I just corrected the recipe and added the 1/4 teaspoon baking soda needed for the recipe. Thanks again and let me know how it turns out for you. 🙂

      Reply
  13. June says

    September 17, 2015 at 6:16 AM

    This recipe looks great and easy to make. I have three pear trees laden with ripe fruit and I’m trying to make up recipes that I can freeze… do you think this cake can be frozen?
    Thanks in advance

    Reply
    • Sally says

      September 17, 2015 at 6:33 AM

      Hello June, I think this cake would freeze very well. I hope you like the recipe and thanks in advance for giving it a try!

      Reply
About Sally - Good Dinner Mom.

About Good Dinner Mom

My name is Sally and I love to be in the kitchen. Making fresh, unique dishes is my way of showing love for family and friends and I hope that here you’ll find recipes of both healthy and indulgent dishes that will inspire you to cook more at home while sharing some love of your own. more about me

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