Ming Tsai's Cranberry-Asian Pear Star Anise Cake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees convection or 350 standard. Prepare a 10-inch cake pan by greasing, lining with parchment round, greasing and flouring and coating with 2 tablespoons sugar. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together sugar, butter, and orange zest. Add eggs one at a time, allowing each to fully incorporate before adding the next and scraping continually. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Add flour gradually and mix until just combined. In a saucepot over medium-high heat, combine cranberries, vanilla, sugar, ground star anise, and orange zest, and cook until sugar has dissolved and sauce comes together, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange Asian pear slices in an overlapping layer on bottom of pan. Spoon cranberry sauce evenly over Asian pears. Spread cake batter evenly over cranberries. Bake in center of oven until top springs back when touched with fingertip, about 30-40 minutes convection or 40-50 minutes standard oven. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for about 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve with ice cream.