In my opinion, pears don't receive the praise they deserve. Apples may be all the rage this time of year, but I'm partial to pears. When perfectly ripe, they are super sweet while being balanced with some acidity. Their soft texture gives way to baking, braising or serving fresh for snacking. When I'm not eating a piece of fruit out of hand, I like to use pears for this upside-down cake.

I make this cake every year during the holidays when pears are at their peak. It's a simple dessert that's made even better when served with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream on each slice.

An overlapping layer of pears bakes over a bed of sticky caramel sauce. The caramel is made on the stovetop by cooking sugar until it's golden, then stirring in a few tablespoons of butter. Once you have artfully arranged the pears in the pan, you can move on to the cake batter. This batter is moist, fluffy and slightly crumbly. The vanilla-scented batter is simple, which allows the flavors of the fresh pears and caramel to stand out. The egg yolks go into the base of the buttery batter, then whipped egg whites are gently folded in before baking.

Technique Tip: When making the caramel, you'll notice when the surface goes from big bubbles to foam. Once the bigger bubbles disappear, the caramel should be a perfect golden amber brown.

Swap Option: Swap 2 tablespoons of flour for cornmeal to add some more texture to the cake batter.