Pear Cake With Grappa Sauce Food

GRAPPA CAKE ( ITALIAN PEAR CAKE )

Steps:

• Make pear cake: Preheat oven to 350 and lightly butter and flour an 8 1/2" springform pan, knocking out excess flour.
• In a bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon and baking powder.
• In another bowl, with an electric mixer beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour misture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until it is just combined after each addition. Stir in grappa.
• Peel and core pears; cut into 1/2" dice. Fold pears, raisins or prunes and pine nuts into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top with remaining tablespoons sugar. Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it, 45 - 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack and remove side of pan.
• Make grappa sauce: In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together eggs, sugar and cinnamon until thick and pale. In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt butter and stir in egg mixture. Cook sauce, stirring constantly, until it is thickened and registers 165F on a candy thermometer (c. 7 min). Remove bowl from pan; stir in cream and grappa. Serve cake with warm sauce.

PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN GRAHAM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch pan with 2-inch sides and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
• Add butter pieces to the pan. Place in the preheating oven until melted. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Arrange sliced pears in a circular pattern over the butter and brown sugar. Set aside.
• Whisk graham flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.
• Combine butter, brown sugar, oil, and honey in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat for 1 minute. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk; beat briefly after each addition.
• Pour batter carefully over the pears. Smooth the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cake for 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack and peel off parchment paper. Allow to cool completely.

GLAZED PEAR AND PECAN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9-inch baking pan. Dust pan with flour. Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups sugar with eggs, oil and vinegar in large bowl at high speed until very thick, about 4 minutes. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup dry ingredients; mix remaining dry ingredients into egg mixture. Toss pears, pecans and dried pears with reserved dry ingredients to coat. Mix into batter. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 cup sugar, pear nectar and whipping cream in heavy small saucepan. Stir over high heat until sugar dissolves. Boil until thick, about 20 minutes. Spoon 1/2 cup glaze over hot cake. Let cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover cake and let stand at room temperature. Cover remaining glaze and chill.)
• Rewarm glaze in heavy small saucepan over low heat. Cut cake into squares. Spoon glaze over and serve.

PEAR POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 x 5inch loaf pan. In a mixing bowl, cream 6 tablespoons of the butter with the sugar and the vanilla until light and smooth. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg and toss together until evenly mixed. Add half of the flour mixture and the egg to the butter mixture and mix well. Add the rest of the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beating them in well. Fold in the pears and the pecans. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the center is firm and golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out of the pan and finish cooling. When cool, invert onto a serving plate and cut into slices.

PEAR-SPICE BUNDT CAKE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, spread granulated sugar in an even layer. Cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until sugar around edge of pan melts and begins to turn golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, slowly stir until all sugar has melted and mixture is translucent and golden.
• Add pear chunks to caramel, and stir to coat. Cook, covered, over low heat until very soft, 6 to 8 minutes, swirling pan occasionally. Using a potato masher, mash pears until they are broken down but still slightly chunky. Continue cooking, uncovered, 5 minutes more, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; let cool completely.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch (12-cup capacity) Bundt pan, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, baking soda, pepper, and nutmeg; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and honey on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition. With mixer on the lowest speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with milk and beginning and ending with flour. Add reserved pear sauce and mix to combine, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Do not overmix.
• Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth with a small offset spatula. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until cake is a deep golden brown and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Invert cake onto a wire rack set over a piece of parchment paper and allow to cool 10 minutes. Once cool, pour the glaze over the top, letting some drip down the sides. Alternatively, dust with confectioners' sugar. Garnish with pear chips, if using.

PEAR SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan with a lid, combine pears, 1/4 cup water, lemon zest, and 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover, and cook until pears are soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Uncover, and coarsely mash with the back of a spoon. Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer mixture to a food processor, and blend until smooth; add lemon juice and honey to taste. Serve warm, or let cool, then cover and refrigerate up to 1 week. Use as you would applesauce.

PEAR CAKE WITH GRAPPA SAUCE

Steps:

• Make pear cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch springform pan, knocking out excess flour.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon, and baking powder. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy and beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until just combined after each addition, and stir in grappa. Peel and core pears and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Fold pears int batter with raisins or prunes and pine nuts.
• Pout batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack and remove side of pan.
• Make grappa sauce:
• In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together eggs, sugar, and cinnamon until thick and pale. In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt butter and stir in egg mixture. Cook sauce, stirring constantly, until thickened and it registers 165°F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from pan and stir in cream and grappa.
• Serve cake with warm sauce.

PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 8x8-inch pan.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, salt.
• In a bowl, combine pears, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of sugar, toss lightly.
• Cream butter and remaining sugar together, add egg and vanilla and mix till the batter is pale and smooth.
• Add milk alternatively with the dry ingredients, starting and ending with flour.
• Pour half of the batter into baking pan.
• Cover with pears, then pour the remaining half of the batter, covering the pears completely.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Let cool completely.

CHOCOLATE & PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and line the base and sides of a deep, 20cm loose-bottomed round cake tin. Mix the sugar, flours, ground almonds, baking powder and spices in a big bowl. Mix together the chopped nuts. Set aside 2 heaped tbsp of them for decoration and stir the rest into the dry ingredients with the chopped chocolate or chips. Whisk together the melted butter, eggs and almond extract.
• Tip the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to combine, then fold in the diced pear. Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake for 45 mins, then cover with foil and bake for 20 mins more until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool in the tin overnight.
• For the icing, put the soured cream and chocolate chunks in a small pan. Heat very gently, stirring, until melted. Chill until spreadable (overnight is fine).
• Remove the cake from the tin, spread over the icing and scatter with the reserved nuts.

FABULOUSLY SWEET PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Peel and slice pears thin. Mix sliced pears with white sugar, brown sugar, and nuts and let sit for one hour. After sitting puree pear mixture in a blender.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 13x9 inch pan.
• By hand stir in until just blended; the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to pear mixture and add oil, vanilla and eggs. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

FRESH PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat eggs on medium speed. Gradually add sugar and oil; beat thoroughly. Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda; add to egg mixture and mix well. Stir in pears and vanilla. (The batter will be stiff.) , Spoon into a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. , In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and milk; beat until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Cool completely.