A variety of pears beg to be taken advantage of and shared at the sweets table.
From cool to warm desserts, treasured pears cannot disappoint.
From cool to warm desserts, treasured pears cannot disappoint.
Late last summer, I had admired the splendour of pears dangling like jewels.
Unfortunately, they were not available for the picking.
The farm's owner had a seemingly distrustful eye on me.
Why?...Did I possibly give the impression that I was going to be sneaky and twist one off?
Truth be told, I did have a small window of opportunity.
However, Mom raised me right…I wouldn't have dared.
Apples and plums were what we ended up bringing back home.
My pear desserts had to wait another appropriate day.
Since pears don't ripen on trees, they should be placed in a warm area for a few days.
From our International friends, we are in effect able to get these precious fruits pretty much all year.
Most of the time, they feel semi-rock solid and slightly discouraging for an anxious baker.
With a little more patience, they turn out their best when the pear's neck yields to pressure.
If not using them right away, refrigerate them to stop the ripening process.
Whenever I can get my hands on my favourite pears, I stock up.
I especially enjoy them in my morning smoothie or delicate sorbet.
Ahead of time, I cut and place them layered onto a plastic tray to freeze.
After about 1 hour, I transfer them into a freezer bag to later be used at any time.
But…why wait…here's one of my latest frozen guiltless treats using this practice.
PEAR nut butter Spice CHOCOLATE
ice-cream
dairy free ice-cream made in a food processor
INGREDIENTS:
(American / Metric measures)
. 4 ripe pears * (Bosc or Bartlett) peeled, cored, cubed and frozen
. 3 Tbsps. (45ml) Dutch-processed Cocoa powder
. 1/4 tsp. (1.25ml) ground cardamom
. 1/4 tsp. (1.25ml) ground cinnamon
. pinch of sea salt
. 2 tsps. (10ml) pure Vanilla extract
. 3 Tbsps. (45ml) Maple syrup
. 3 Tbsps. (45ml) Nut butter of choice
* fresh pears can be replaced by canned pears with syrup removed. One can [28 fl.oz (796ml)] light syrup pears
PREPARATION:
...Ahead of time:
1. Peel, core and cut the pears into medium size chunks. Place them onto a plastic platter and freeze for about 1 hour or until they are almost frozen.
2. Then, in a large food processor, pulse together ALL the ingredients a few times. Scrape the sides and repeat the process. Once small pieces appear, process again by blitzing it on MEDIUM-HIGH speed until a creamy textures is realized.
3. Either immediately serve (which is best) or transfer the ice-cream into a medium size container. Also line the surface with a parchment paper. Place it at the back of the freezer until ready to serve.
***
Around this time of year, I also crave my Maple Syrup pudding cake made with pears or apples.
A Poor man's pudding cake soaked generously in sweet pears and Maple syrup.
***
Here's another sought after dessert…a tantalizing pie I've made on several occasions.
A real sweet table delight created with either the Bosc and Bartlett variety.
Poached, syrup pears basked in smooth almond cream with a splash of Amaretto.
Crunch and savour the cradle of granola as every bite sings to your taste buds.
With the pear syrup from the pie...
a quickly blitzed cocktail was made from frozen parts:
a quickly blitzed cocktail was made from frozen parts:
Banana Mango Pear syrup Coconut Rum cocktail
makes 2 medium-large glasses
INGREDIENTS:
(American measures)
. 4 big cubes pure Mango juice, frozen
. 2 big cubes Pear syrup, frozen
. half a small, ripe banana, frozen
. 3 Tbsps. Coconut cream
. 3 oz. dark Rum
. 1 can (12oz.) Club Soda (seltzer) water
. 6 small sized ice-cubes
PREPARATION:
1. In a blender, pulse the first 4 ingredients a few times to get a smooth texture.
2. Add in the liquids and blend by blitzing a few seconds more.
3. Pour the prepared cocktail evenly throughout each chosen style glass.
***
Last and certainly not least would be to share a last minute put together cake torte.
My first try at putting all these ingredients together were…
a success from the start to a delectable fork finish.
How thrilled I am when most of my pantry suits the creation at hand.
Speaking of hand…no electric beater required. Some quiet time at last.
PEAR spice Espresso Coffee cake
torte cake
NO electric beater required
INGREDIENTS:
(American / Metric measures)
. 1/2 cup (120ml) grapeseed oil
. 3 xLarge eggs
. 1 Tbsp. (15ml) Apple cider vinegar (optional)
...
. 1 cup (150g) All-purpose flour
. 1/2 cup (130g) Oatmeal flour (gr. from rolled oats)
. 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
. 1 tsp. (5ml) baking powder
. 1/2 tsp. (2.5ml) baking soda
. 1 tsp. (5ml) ground cardamom spice
. 1 tsp. (5ml) ground cinnamon spice
. 1 tsp. (5ml) ground ginger
. 1/4 tsp. (1.25ml) ground nutmeg
. pinch of sea salt
. 1/2 cup (75g) raisins (or finely chopped dates)
. 1/2 cup (90g) semi-sweet (55%) chocolate chips
. 1/2 cup (80g) walnuts, coarsely chopped
. 4 medium, ripe Pears (Bartlett or Bosc), peeled, cored, cubed
PREPARATION:
. Use a shallow, round sized 10 x 2 inch (26 x 5cm)
corning ware or similar cake pan. Grease with oil.
. Pre-heat the oven at 350F/180C/Gas4.
. Position the oven rack on the 2nd level from the bottom.
1. In a small, volume measuring cup, pour in the coffee, oil, eggs and optional vinegar. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, hand whisk together the flours, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
3. With the aid of a spatula, to the flour mix, add and toss in the following in this particular order so that each ingredient gets properly coated with each toss of the spatula. First, put in the raisins. Continue and repeat the process with the chocolate, walnuts and pears.
4. Last, add the liquid coffee mix. Again, with the spatula, combine the batter by folding and mixing just until there are no traces of flour left. Do not over mix. Pour the thin like batter into the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle some sugar over the surface (optional).
5. BAKE the cake for 48 minutes if using a light colored pan. However, if a darker pan is used, a 43 minute baking time is sufficient.
. When the cake pan is taken out of the oven, have it rest on a metal rack for at least 1 hour before serving. Note: You can keep the cake out at room temperature for 3 days with no concerns. This cake, sliced largely, will also freeze very well. Just take it out of the freezer and warm the pieces in a very low heat oven temperature.
Although Spring has somewhat sprung, many oven lit sweets have been sliding into warm comfort.
Hopefully these pear baked desserts will soon lead you towards the cooler delectable treats in no time.
Have a wonderful week,
Flavourful wishes,
Foodessa
Comments ... ??? ... or suggestions ... write me :o)
Claudia at: foodessa [at] gmail [dot] com
Go HERE for more SWEET creations.
Please take note on how I bake and cook...
Here’s a 101 of sorts to make sure that there are no disappointments when trying my creations.
Also...just so you know...feel free to increase the salt and sweet factor since I'm not high on either of them ;o)
. Use DRY cup measurements for...you guessed it...all DRY ingredients.
Anything
DRY gets measured by spooning the overfilled ingredient (never shake
the cup) and then level off with a flat edged tool. Exception...Brown sugar should be packed in and leveled.
. Use LIQUID cup measurements for...all LIQUIDS that cannot be leveled like for example butter, yogurt...etc. Measure the liquids at eye level to avoid overdoing what the recipe truly needs.
. OVENS are
unfortunately not created equal. Mine is so old that it has reached
many degrees off it's norm. It's really worth investing a few dollars
to test yours with an appropriate oven thermometer. You'd be surprised
how many ovens I've heard about not being where they should have been.
Before you lose any more ingredients and much time preparing a new
recipe...run to the store...you'll thank me later.
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