Pear Almond Upside Down Cake

Last night I tried my first foray into baking. We were invited to a dinner party and asked to bring dessert. Once we did a run to the store for the buttermilk and almond paste, this was pretty straightforward. The only problem was with the kids running around I forgot to put in the baking powder. Ten minutes into the oven, I saw it sitting on the counter and realized my mistake. Instead of throwing in the towel completely, I decided to mix it into the batter and lower the bar of my expectations. Shockingly, it turned out just great. The presentation was beautiful and the result was delicious. I used a recipe from Mark Bittman's vegetarian cooking cookbook. It was a variation that he outlines under the plum upside down cake recipe. Definitely recommend this one.