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Saturday, November 27, 2010

Pear Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Buttermilk Caramel Sauce

         For some reason, a majority of the birthdays in my family are in November.  Because of this I have found that during November I am constantly baking birthday cakes, pies, or whatever a person might request.  Then, smack in the middle of all this chaos you have Thanksgiving.  Don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving and all the food I get to eat, but ahhhh, I literally bake from 8 in the morning to 10 at night.  This year I made rolls, pumpkin pie, vegan pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and chocolate pudding pie. 
        So, anyways, the point I was getting to is that the busyness of November the reason this blog is so neglected, and come December (AND WINTER BREAK!) I  think I'll have more time.  But for now, here's an amazing recipe for pear cake (the recipe my Godmother requested for her November Birthday).

 Buttermilk Caramel Sauce [adapted from here]
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 stick real butter
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all the ingredients (but vanilla) in a large pan, and boil until a deep caramel color.  Allow to slightly cool before stirring in vanilla.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Pear Cake [adapted from here] 
3  ripe Bartlett pears, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
2 tsp  sugar
2 large eggs
4/3 cups  sugar
scant 1 cup  vegetable oil
2 cups  all-purpose flour (or use Pamela's Baking & Pancakes mix to make GF)
2/3  teaspoon  salt (1/2 if using Pamela's)
2/3 teaspoon  baking soda
2/3 cups  pecans, coarsely chopped
1 1/2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk caramel sauce (recipe above)

Toss the pears and 2 tsp of sugar and leave to stand for 5 minutes.  
Mix the eggs, oil, and 4/3 cup sugar with a whisk until combined.
Whisk in the baking soda, salt, and vanilla.
Gently fold in the flour, followed by the pecans and finally the pears.
Pour the batter in a greased 9 x 13 pan and ladle the sauce over.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (make sure you're testing the cake, not just the pears)  
Frost with Vanilla Bean Frosting (recipe below)

Vanilla Bean Frosting
 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter (1 stick, 8 tbs), room temperature
2 cups powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
Beat the cream cheese and butter in a hand or stand mixture until fluffy.  Gradually add in the powder sugar and beat for 5 minutes.  Stir in the vanilla bean paste.

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