Upside-down pear cake with cinnamon ice cream

Method

1. To make the ice cream, place the sugar and 100ml water in a saucepan, then heat slowly, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat and boil fiercely for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens to the thread stage: dip a spoon in, then take it out; the syrup will run off with the last few drops forming a syrupy thread. (Alternatively, simply boil the mixture until a sugar thermometer reaches 110°C.)
2. Meanwhile, using an electric hand mixer, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff. Still whisking, gradually pour in the hot syrup in a thin stream and continue to whisk for about 4-5 minutes until the mixture is cool, glossy and stiff.
3. Fold in the whipped cream and ground cinnamon, then put in a container to freeze overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 170°C/fan150°C/gas 3½. Put 200g of the sugar and 125ml water into an ovenproof 25cm sauté or frying pan. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then turn up the heat and cook without stirring until the syrup caramelises to a golden brown, swirling the pan to even it out if necessary.
5. Meanwhile, watching the caramel, put the butter, the remaining sugar and flour into the bowl of an electric food processor, whizz for a couple of seconds, then add the eggs and stop as soon as the mix comes together. (If you don’t have a food processor, cream the butter and sugar by hand, adding the eggs one by one, then mix in the flour.)
6. Take the caramel off the heat and carefully arrange the pears cut-side down in a single layer over the caramel (this will be the top of the cake when it’s cooked).
7. Spread the cake mixture in an even layer over the pears in the pan, then bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. The centre should be firm to the touch, the edges should have shrunk a little from the sides of the pan and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake will come out clean.
8. Run a knife around the edges to make sure it hasn’t stuck anywhere. Leave it to sit for 2 minutes before turning out. Serve with a scoop or two of the cinnamon ice cream.