Pear Flognarde

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This homely dessert, called a flognarde, is associated with provincial kitchens in the Limousin region of France. A flognarde is a clafoutis made with any fruit other than cherries. This dessert, like the clafoutis, is a cross between a pudding and a cake and it's made by pouring a custard-like batter over a layer of fruit. It's one of those rare desserts that can really be made with a wooden spoon or whisk. A pear flognarde lacks the pocked appearance of the versions made with berries, and because the fruit remains at the bottom the pan, it is characterized by a smooth and richly browned top. If you enjoy pears, you will love this dessert. Be sure to use ripe but firm fruit for the flognarde. Overripe pears will weep into the batter and you'll have unpredictable results. While the recipe utilizes heavy cream, no additional fat is used in its making. You can substitute light cream or half-and-half if you must, but it will change the texture of the dessert. It happens that this is one of my favorite desserts. It is easy to do and when pears are in season it has outstanding flavor. I have a bottle of pear liqueur that's been in my pantry for nearly 40 years. I'm very stingy with it and use it only to enhance the flavor of desserts I love. While I use a splash of it in the flognarde, it's a nice but not necessary addition to the batter. If you start with ripe and flavorful pears you'll do fine without it. Just make sure to put pear liqueur on your Christmas list. Do serve this while it is still warm. Here's the recipe.

Pear Flognarde...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
4 ripe but firm Bartlet pears
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
Optional: 1 tablespoon pear liqueur
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 11 x 7 x 2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.
2) Peal and core pears. Cut in 1/2-inch dice. Arrange on bottom of baking dish.
3) Place eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Beat until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy. Add vanilla, cream and liqueur to mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour and cinnamon and beat until blended. Pour batter over pears.
4) Bake for 40 minutes or until puffed and firm. Remove from oven and serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Blueberry Flognarde - One Perfect Bite
Plum Clafoutis - The English Kitchen
Chocolate and Cherry Clafoutis - Cook Sister!
Strawberry Clafoutis - Delishhh
Peach Clafoutis - Sugar and Spice
Apple Walnut Clafoutis - Jungle Frog Cooking
Individual Strawberry Clafoutis - Baking Bites

Caramelized Pear and Cranberry Upside Down Cake - Outdoor Wednesday

Bob adores pears and today's post is about our quest for pears and the sights we encountered on our way to an orchard to pick them. This was our first stop. If a man can call his home a castle, I guess it logically follows that a marina can be called a yacht club.



There wasn't a yacht in site, but there were sail boats and other small marine vessels, including the one that appears below.



They were having a great time, but they were in cramped quarters and the boat was riding low in the water.



...and this was the object of our quest. An orchard full of Bartlett pears to make a cake I've been wanting to try.



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The orchards of local growers are now open and bargain hunters, drawn by the lure of u-pick fruit, have descended on them with a vengeance. Pears and early apples are ripe for the picking and the pears are especially good this year. As usual, I ended up with more fruit than I had intended to pick. This lovely upside down cake with caramelized pears and cranberries is one of the recipes I've used to work my way through the glut. The recipe was developed by Matthew Kennedy. It's one of his signature desserts. The cake is simple, different and delicious. I'll definitely be making it again but I'll replace the vanilla extract with pear brandy and use a brulée torch to create a more defined layer of caramel. My only disappointment was the time spent creating a ring of overlapping pear slices. They weren't discernible in the finished cake. Here's the recipe.

Caramelized Pear and Cranberry Upside-Down Cake...From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
11 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, divided use
3/4 cup lightly packed golden brown sugar
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 firm but ripe pears, peeled, halved, cored and cut in 1/8-inch slices
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole milk

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Set aside
2) Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a saucepan set over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Immediately pour into cake pan. Sprinkle cranberries over syrup in cake pan; top with pear slices in an overlapping, circular pattern. Set aside.
3) Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
4) Cream remaining 1/3 cup butter with sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Add vanilla. Add dry ingredients, alternating in thirds with milk and beating until well blended. Pour batter over pears, using a spatula to cover fruit if necessary.
5) Bake cake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until edges are golden and a cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, Cool for 5 minutes.
6) Place a serving plate over cake pan; gently invert cake tapping gently to release. Serve warm. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

This recipe is being linked to Outdoor Wednesday, an event sponsored by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.