Monday, January 31, 2011

Skillet Caramelized Pear Cake

I have friends who think I never have kitchen disasters. Hah! I'll never forget the blueberry bread that was so bad that even desperately hungry squirrels and raccoons turned their noses up at it. Nevertheless I keep trying new things. Sometimes they work, sometimes not so much.

Yesterday, Sunday dinner with Mom was looming, but I couldn't find a recipe for what I had in mind. In this case, I happened to have two pears that I was determined to use, a small oval cast iron skillet that Santa brought, and precious little time for baking.

I'll admit that I had serious doubts about how this might turn out. It exceeded our expectations. This one is a keeper and a recipe I'll be making often. Not only does it taste great, but it's very pretty, too. Apples could readily be substituted for pears, and I suspect that a mixture of apples and pears would work as well. My cast iron skillet is 9.5 inches by 7 inches for reference purposes. A small round skillet should work fine.

Skillet Caramelized Pear Cake

2 pears
lemon

1/4 cup canola or olive oil (not one with intense flavor)
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup milk

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar


Preheat oven to 350.

Peel, core, and slice the pears. Toss with a squeeze or two of lemon so they don't turn brown.

Place the oil, egg, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat or whisk together. Alternate adding flour and milk until everything is blended. Set aside.

On the stove top, melt the butter with the light brown sugar in the skillet. Position the pear slices on top of the mixture, crowding them a little bit. Pour the batter over the pears and slide the skillet into the oven. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Flip over onto serving platter.



Serve warm with creme fraiche or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Enjoy!

16 comments:

  1. Nice. Shoot, I don't have any pears in the house (can I cheat and use apples?). And I love cardamom, at least in small doses--somewhere I have my Swedish step-grandmother's recipe for Swedish coffee cake.

    While we're in the Tarte Tatin mode, recently at a French restaurant I had a tomato tarte (baked with a crust on top, then reversed) that really surprised me--it was outstanding.

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  2. Wow, this is beautiful, Krista. Problem is, I want a piece right now to enjoy with my coffee. Gorgeous. Isn't it great when recipes turn out better than we expect? Love it!

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  3. Beautiful photos and a gorgeous tart! (Also love the blueberry bread story. Cooking disasters and I are old friends, including those tastes-like-pine needles Union Square nuts I tried to make at New Years, eesh!) This one's certainly a keeper. A great spin on a French apple Tatin. I love the idea of using pears or even apples and pears mixed. I'm betting it'll taste great with your Bourbon Whipped Cream, too. Thanks, Krista! Have a lovely Monday…

    ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  4. Another winner, you! My mouth is watering.

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  5. How lovely and simple. Bet it would taste great drizzled with syrup, too. Sounds like breakfast! Yum!

    ~Avery
    AveryAames.com

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  6. Thanks, Dru. It was very pretty, if I say so myself.

    Sheila, I think apples would work great.

    Sheila and Cleo, I vaguely had a Tarte Tatin in mind, but didn't have the time to make puff pastry, and I really wanted something more cake-y.

    Cleo , it has to happen to everyone, right? We can't always whip up something delicious.

    Julie, am emailing you a piece right now, along with a little extra whipped cream for your coffee.

    ~ Krista

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  7. MJ, for something that I made on the fly, it turned out surprisingly good.

    Avery, I would have had some for breakfast, but my mom loved it so much that she made me promise not to eat any without her -- she wants her fair share!

    ~ Krista

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  8. Pears are my fav. I will so try this! Its looks GREAT... And if you ever need a taste expert - I do rent my husband by the meals (LOL).

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  9. You're catching me at a weak moment! I was just thinking that a sweet snack would be wonderful right now...and boy, would this hit the spot. I love pears and never have enough recipes for preparing them.

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  10. LOL, Handmade Crafts! Do you lend him out for yard work, too? ; )

    Hope you love the dish as much as I do!

    ~ Krista

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  11. Elizabeth, I have that same sweet snack issue! Sometimes nothing else will do.

    ~ Krista

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  12. Laughing at your blueberry story. I think I learned to cook out of sheer self preservation since my mom's approach to cooking is to grab spices at random and going for it! I still remember one Thanksgiving that the bread dressing was so dreadful the dog turned his nose up at it so we gave it to the pigs and THEY refused to eat it. For all I know, it may still be sitting there in a lump, refusing to die.~~Judy Mac

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  13. LOL, Judy Mac! My blueberry bread might still be there, too. If pigs won't eat something, you know it's bad!

    ~ Krista

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  14. Made this tonight, it was an absolute hit. Mother in law and I were trying to figure out what else we could use the "base" with. We figured out PB&J with raspberry preserves instead of the pears and adding a bit of peanut butter to the cake. We also thought with a little less sugar it could be used as a savory base with bacon and eggs ie: quiche.. Wonderful!!! A keeper for SURE Thanks for sharing

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  15. Lisa, I'm so excited that it turned out well for you. I love raspberry preserves. Hmm, I may have to play with it a little bit and see how it works as a savory dish.

    I've heard from several people who made it and so far everyone really liked it. Sheila Connolly tried it, too, and it was a big hit at her house.

    ~ Krista

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