upside-down pear cake

I am clearly what the French term a chocodependante. But here is proof that I eat other sweeties too. And anything with the words "upside-down" in the title grab my attention as much as my current drug of choice - chocolate. Well, almost.

Tarte tatins just seem the stuff of virtuosic baking but this upside-down baby from Fran Warde's "eat drink live"cookbook is simple- just make, bake and flip. And if you're not a pear appreciator or poiredependante (?) like me then you could just as easily use other fruits such as apples, peaches, pineapples, plums or bananas. Whatever the case, it's bottoms up!

Upside-down pear cake (adapted from Fran Warde)
3 pears
175g butter
175g sugar
3 eggs
175g flour
1 and a half teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons milk
icing sugar to dust

Heat the oven to 180 degreesC or gas mark 4. Using an electric beater, cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, adding one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold until just combined, then stir in the milk.
Meanwhile, peel, core and quarter the pears and arrange on the bottom of a lined and greased 20cm cake tin. Spoon the mixture over the pears and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the cake lightly comes away from the edge of the cake tin. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out of the pan and on to a serving plate, dust with icing sugar and enjoy either hot or cold.