This Spiced Pear Upside Down Cake recipe makes a moist Fall inspired cake that’s as elegant as it is delicious. You’ll love this fluffy vanilla cake filled with pears and topped with a crunchy brown sugar topping.

Table of Contents
A Low Sugar, Healthy Holiday Dessert Idea
How is Stevia Made?
How to Make Pear Upside Down Cake
Get the Recipe

Spiced Pear Upside Down Cake

Guys this cake could be my proudest shining moment! Just look at how pretty it is!

First off, I’ve never made upside down cake before… of any kind. But I was being adventurous and had a recipe idea. So trying to make an upside down cake for the first time, AND make it “waist friendly” was definitely a challenge. Never fear, I was up for it and ready to deliver a quality cake for you guys! Cuz you’re my peeps!

A Low Sugar, Healthy Holiday Dessert Idea

So what’s my secret this holiday season to get in on that cake and cookie action, but still stay waist-friendly and not go into a sugar coma!?

SPLENDA® Sugar Blends! They have a Sugar & Stevia Blend and a Brown Sugar Blend, both of which you’ll need for the holidays! I have been using both of them for about a month now, experimenting with different recipes to make sure I liked the flavor and the quality before I shared it with you! Well, the verdict is in. It’s awesome and an easy way to cut back on sugar this holiday season!

These blend look and act like regular sugar, but it literally has half the sugar. Most importantly, and why it took me a month to experiment: there is NO BITTER AFTERTASTE (let the happy dance commence!) That part was huge for me – I definitely didn’t want to surrender taste for fewer calories. Up until now, every time I’ve tried using stevia, I didn’t really like the flavor. I learned that most stevia extracts use Reb A, which can have a bitter aftertaste. SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweeteners primarily use Reb D, a cleaner tasting, less bitter extract from the leaf.

How is Stevia Made?

So how is that sweetener made? Well stevia is actually the name of a plant! The stevia leaves from the plant are harvested, dried, and then steeped in water. Then the intense sweetening components of those leaves – including Reb D – are extracted, isolated, purified and dried. Simple as that.

Here’s the crazy part: HALF a cup of the SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend replaces a FULL cup of regular brown sugar! Is your jaw dropping to the floor yet?! You can use this brown sugar blend anywhere you would normally use brown sugar and it acts the same way. It gives you the same sweetness and browns those cookies to a T. It still has that same molasses flavor and leaves you with a moist baked product. I have made waffles with this blend, granola bars, cookies, pecan pie and now this cake. I’m telling you, it works!

Just think of those Christmas Cookie Parties you have lined up this holiday season, sub the sugar with one or both of these products and you’ll have a secret that everyone will want to know about it! Namely, how did you cut the calories and sugar but still have one amazing cookie! Woohoo!

Okay, so on to today’s recipe!

How to Make Pear Upside Down Cake

This Spiced Pear Upside Cake is going to blow your mind! It’s easier than it looks! But honestly, I do say a couple of prayers and give the cake pan a little rub of love when I’m getting ready to flip the cake upside down. And if we’re sharing all our cards, I actually made this cake twice in less than 3 hours because the first cake did not look “photo pretty.” Lets just say that Cason’s school crossing guards appreciated me that day because they each got half a cake!

The key to making sure the pears don’t stick to the bottom is thoroughly spraying the cake pan. You don’t want an inch of that pan not covered or you’ll end up with a hot sticky mess. Once that’s done, line your pears along the bottom of the pan. I used fresh pears but if you’d like to use canned you totally can.

Next up, the spiced brown sugar sauce. Normally people will put a sort of caramel sauce on top of an upside down cake. This caramel sauce recipe just has the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, water, a tablespoon of butter and then all the spices of fall (cinnamon, clove & nutmeg!) Once it starts to bubble up a little bit, remove it from the stove and pour the sauce over your pears!

Then all you have left is the cake batter. It’s more of a vanilla based cake and I substituted the SPLENDA®Naturals Sugar & Stevia Sweetener Blend for regular sugar. This cake rises like a gem and is crazy moist! Just make sure you use a 9″ round cake pan. If you use an 8″ you’re gonna overflow, and no one wants to clean up an oven covered in cake batter.

The subtle vanilla flavor from this fluffy moist cake combined with the intense spiced pear topping are going to blow your socks off. This cake is the perfect light dessert option for the holidays. Top it with ice cream or homemade whip cream, you could even add a little cinnamon in that whipped cream to really complement the flavors! Serve it with a cup of coffee and wow… you’ll be the star of the night! I guarantee it!

Now, if you want to get you some of those holiday waist-friendly SPLENDA® Sugar Blends they are sold at most grocery stores in the sugar/sweetener aisle (I usually see them by the agave.) Or you could order them online and have them shipped right to your house. Either way, make sure they are in your pantry before holiday baking season commences!

Bon appétit friends!

** This post is sponsored by Splenda. As always all opinions are 100% mine and truthful. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Joyful Healthy Eats. **