sorry I'm so many months behind, flatlander. Here's the recipe I use for upside down pear gingerbread from Gourmet magazine: Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake Serves6 For topping 2 1/2 firm pears (preferably Bosc) 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar For cake 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup molasses (preferably mild) 1 cup boiling water 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1 large egg, lightly beaten Special equipment:a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a 12-inch deep nonstick skillet (handle wrapped with a double layer of foil if not ovenproof) Make topping: Peel and core pears and cut each into 8 wedges. Melt butter in skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Reduce heat to low, then sprinkle brown sugar over bottom of skillet and cook, undisturbed, 3 minutes (not all sugar will be melted). Arrange pears decoratively over sugar and cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together molasses and boiling water in a small bowl. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes, then alternately mix in flour mixture and molasses in 3 batches at low speed until smooth. Pour batter over topping in skillet, spreading evenly and being careful not to disturb pears, and bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in skillet on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of skillet, then invert a large plate with a lip over skillet and, using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert cake onto plate. Replace any pears that stick to skillet. Serve warm or at room temperature. This is so good, dark and moist. I plead guilty to adding a bit more ginger and using dark molasses because I like that flavor. This is amazing still warm with vanilla ice cream and my daughter likes to drizzle some hot caramel topping over the whole thing. Annie

I made this cake last weekend!! I used my deep corning ware pot and it worked great. I was going to wait to post this when I could post a picture - which I hope to do this weekend - but since y'all posted I wanted to say: Eat it warm right out of the oven if you can. Well, I say right out of the oven, but it sits an hour in the warm water after it comes out of the oven, so right after that hour is over, eat it! I had to serve mine cold because I made it for a party and I had to make it the day before. It was wonderful and got rave reviews - everyone loved it! But I do admit to sampling a bit of what was left in the pot after I flipped it and let me just say, warm, it was HEAVENLY!!!

I have made jam cake, though it's been a while. AFAIK, it's an old Southern recipe, almost a pioneer recipe. It's one of my "go-to's" for excess jams or jam's that have been on the shelf a little longer than I like. My Southern Heritage Cakes cookbook has a Heritage Jam Cake, which uses grape jam and a fruit filling between the layers; a Blackberry Jam Cake with a powdered sugar glaze over a 10" bundt; and a Church Jam Cake with strawberry jam and an Eggnog Icing with 1/4 cup of bourbon (rather funny for a "church" cake - someone had a sense of humor). There are tons of jam cake recipes out there. You don't have to use the one I've linked to. You might want to do a search and see what else is out there. Some are akin to fruitcakes. In fact, my mother's old dark fruitcake calls for plum butter as one of the ingredients (along with a good amount of whiskey). Honestly, I've never had a problem with boiling over as the previous poster described. But we may have used different recipes or it may be a difference of ovens or pans. I see it as basically a moist spice cake which falls into the carrot cake or applesauce cake class. It only has 1 tsp. soda as the leavening, so I'm not seeing where the boiling up would come from as long as the pan has sufficient capacity to allow for a reasonable rise. A 10" springform is 12 cups, so again, that's the same as two 9-inch pans. But you could certainly use less batter to be more conservative and then bake the excess as cupcakes. Or do one 9" pan to frost for company and the remainder as cupcakes. I have to admit you have me on the pectin. I don't normally use it except for pepper jelly. If I were to guess, I'd speculate that pectin, like lecithin, will inhibit aging and staleness (which is not a bad thing). It may change the texture slightly, but since this is a heavier moister type of cake anyway, I doubt it will be an issue. I do think, though, that unless your plum jam is quite tart, you could cut back the sugar by 1/2 cup or so. (If you like the recipe you might try cutting more on a future baking try, but for now that could be a good start.) I wouldn't thin with more brandy. I'd just use water to get the plum jam to a "normal" texture. It's cheaper, it will do the job and have no additional effect on the flavor. In fact, you might be able to salvage that jam for other uses by stirring in a warm Tablespoon of water per 8 oz. jar or by gently warming the jam in the microwave on low and stirring in water, however much is needed. It can't do any harm and may counteract some of the rubberiness. [Not that I've ever had to salvage a jam experiment gone wrong, LOL.] Carol

I remember my great-grandmother baking a chocolate pudding cake when I was a child, though I don't remember if she made hers from scratch or from a box. Anyhow, here is our family's favorite recipe. Chocolate Upside Down Pudding Cake 1 cup flour 1 tablespoons baking powder cup cocoa powder ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup sugar ½ cup margarine ½ cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Sauce: ¾ cup sugar ¼ cup cocoa 2 cups boiling water Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Add the sweetener, margarine, milk and vanilla and mix together until Âjust mixed. Spread in a lightly oiled casserole dish. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and cocoa. Sprinkle evenly on top of the cake mixture. Carefully pour the boiling water over top. NOTE: DO NOT MIX THIS TOGETHER! It will do its own thing in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. To serve, scoop out portions  the cake will be on top and the pudding will be on the bottom. If you are interested in more pudding cakes - here is a post I saved from a year or so ago on the cooking forum regarding pudding cakes. (Sorry, I didn't save who posted what recipe.) I have only made the blueberry pudding cake and it was excellent. Lemon Pudding Cake 2 eggs, separated 2/3 cup milk (increase to 1 cup if you like lots of sauce) 1 tsp. grated lemon peel 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup flour 1/4 tsp salt Beat egg white until stiff and set aside. Beat egg yolks slightly; beat in milk, lemon peel and juice. Beat in dry ingredients until smooth. Fold into egg whites. Pour into ungreased 1 qt casserole or pan. Place casserole into square 9x9 pan, on oven rack, and pour in 1" very hot water. (I dont always do this and it turns out ok) Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes. Can serve warm or cold. GINGERBREAD PUDDING CAKE 2-1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 1-1/2 tsp. Baking soda 1 egg 1-1/4 tsp. Ginger 1 tsp. Cinnamon 1/2 tsp. Salt 1/2 tsp. Allspice 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg 1/2 cup softened butter 1 cup molasses 1-1/3 cups melted butter 1 cup water 3/4 cup brown sugar 1-1/2 cups hot water Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and nutmeg, and set aside. In a large bowl beat ½ cup softened butter and sugar on medium until creamy; add egg and continue beating until well mixed. Continue by adding flour and alternating with molasses and 1 cup water. Pour into greased 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar. In medium bowl combine 1-1/2 cups hot water and melted butter. Gently pour over batter. Bake for 40-55 minutes or until top cracks. Serve hot with cool whip or whipped cream. Yummy! Recipe by Jennifer Jeffries of Texas. APPLE PUDDING CAKE A fruity, crusty, gooey version of the crusty, gooey and more familiar chocolate pudding cake. Cake mixture: 1 cup chopped pecans 2/3 cup vegetable shortening 1-1/3 cups granulated sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. ground nutmeg 2 cups all-purpose flour 6 cups peeled and chopped apples (about 5 medium apples) Sauce mixture: 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar 2 Tblsp. flour 1/4 cups (1/2 stick) butter 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup water 1 cup heavy cream, optional Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease a 13- x 9- x 2-inch pan. In a frying pan over low-medium heat, toast the pecans until they begin to color and become fragrant, about 7 minutes. Pour into a dish and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the shortening and granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Sift together the baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour, and beat into the sugar mixture. Fold in the chopped apples and the nuts. The mixture will be stiff. Spread into the prepared pan. (Don't bake it yet.) In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar and the 2 tablespoons of flour. Add the butter, vanilla and water, stir, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil gently for 3 minutes, stirring often. Pour this hot sauce evenly over the batter. Do not stir. Bake 1 hour. Serve warm, with whipped cream if desired. Serves 10 to 12. From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 6/14/01. BLUEBERRY PUDDING CAKE 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw) 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. lemon juice 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 cup milk 3 Tblsp. butter or margarine, melted Topping: 3/4 cup sugar 1 Tblsp. cornstarch 1 cup boiling water vanilla ice cream, optional Toss the blueberries with cinnamon and lemon juice; place in a greased 8- inch square baking dish. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder; stir in milk and butter. Spoon over berries. Combine sugar and cornstarch; sprinkle over batter. Slowly pour boiling water over all. Bake at 350° F. for 45-50 minutes or until cake is golden and tests done. Cool a bit and serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Serves 6. Recipe from: Taste of Home magazine. DATE PUDDING CAKE 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1 tsp. Baking powder 1/2 cup milk 1 cup chopped pitted dates 1-1/4 cups boiling water 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1 Tblsp. Margarine or butter 1 tsp. Vanilla Unsweetened whipped cream (optional) Grease a 2-quart rectangular baking dish; set aside. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and the baking powder. Add milk; mix well. Stir in the chopped pitted dates; spread the batter in the prepared baking dish. In a medium mixing bowl stir together boiling water, pecans or walnuts, the remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, margarine or butter, and vanilla; pour over the date mixture in the baking dish. Bake, uncovered, in a 350° F. oven for about 30 minutes or until set. Serve warm with unsweetened whipped cream, if desired. Makes 12 to 16 servings. CINNAMON PUDDING CAKE 1 3/4 c. brown sugar 1 ½ c. cold water 2 Tbsp. Butter 1 c. milk 1 c. sugar 2 Tbsp. Butter 2 c. flour 2 tsp. Baking powder ½ tsp. Salt 2 ½ tsp. Cinnamon ½ c. chopped walnuts ( optional ) Preheat oven to 350° Combine brown sugar, water & 2 Tbsp butter in small saucepan, bring to a boil, remove from heat & set aside. Cream together 2 Tbsp. Butter and sugar, add milk, then add flour, baking powder, salt & cinnamon.Spread in ungreased 9 x 9 x 2 in. Pan or oven proof dish. Pour reserved brown sugar syrup over batter-sprinkle with nuts. Bake 35-40 min.