Mulled wine poached pear flourless upside down cake

I always want to make something special for a Christmas dessert, but it needs to be light enough for people to want to eat after they’ve filled themselves up on Christmas dinner.  This year, I think I came up with my best one yet – a ground almond cake which is flourless for my gluten-intolerant sister, made into an upside down cake when poured over a base of pears poached in mulled wine.  The mulled wine flavours give it a lovely Christmassy taste, and the cake is so light and moist it was perfect after a big dinner.  It went beautifully with my Christmas Pudding ice cream.  As you can see from the picture, half of it disappeared so quickly that I didn't even have a chance to photograph it before it got demolished - always a sign of a winning cake!

Ingredients

For the poached pears
6 oz caster sugar

750ml bottle of mulled wine

250ml brandy
4 very large pears, peeled and left whole

For the cake

200g butter, plus 3 tbsp
200g caster sugar, plus 3 tbsp
4 eggs
220g ground almonds
2 tbsp butter

Method

1. Pour the wine, brandy and sugar into a saucepan, bring to the boil, and then simmer for a few minutes. Using a spoon, carefully lower the pears into the hot liquid and simmer for 10 minutes, until tender.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. 
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Line a 9 inch round cake tin with baking paper, and place on a baking tray with a lipped edge (to catch any leaks from the cake tin). 
4. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a saucepan. 
5. Meanwhile, sprinkle the cake tin with 3 tbsp sugar.
6. Carefully remove the pears from the poaching wine, reserving the liquid.  Core and thinly slice the pears, and arrange them on top of the sugar in the base of the cake tin.
7. Pour the melted butter over the top of the pears, and set aside.
8. For the cake, beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale and creamy.
9. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
10. Add the almonds and a couple of tablespoonfuls of the poaching wine, and mix to combine.
11. Pour the cake mixture over the pears and bake in the oven for 30–35 minutes, or until firm to the touch, and leave to cool in the tin on a cooling rack.
12. While the cake is baking, bring the pan of poaching wine to the boil and leave to reduce to a thick syrup.
13. Once the cake has cooled, invert it onto a serving plate and pour the syrup over the top of the pears.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Winter Ginger, Pear andAlmond Cake