Mom always made the same breakfast for Christmas morning: breakfast casserole and poached pears with some sort of sweet roll on the side. It took me years to be very interested in the pear, but when I finally tried it, I loved it! The soft, fragrant slices fell away at the touch of my spoon and mingled with the buttery, creamy, lemony sauce in which the pears had been baked. They were wonderful!
This cake reminds me of the best parts of those poached pears. The fragrance of pear and lemon mingle with the rich cake that is topped with a generous dusting of powdered sugar. It’s almost like the sweet roll and pear all rolled into one!
Ingredients:
- 3-4 cups peeled and sliced pears
- 1 lemon, half of it zested and all of it juiced
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 cups/284 grams flour (add ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum if using gluten free blend w/o it)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup butter, cubed
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Combine the pears, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Step 2: Melt the butter over medium heat in a large, oven safe saute or frying pan. Add the brown sugar and cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture emulsifies so that the butter and sugar come together in one bubbly mass. Add the pears, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes.
Step 3: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it is thoroughly incorporated and no large lumps remain. Whisk together the milk, yogurt, eggs, and almond extract. Pour this over the flour. If you are working with all purpose wheat flour, stir together the mixture carefully to avoid developing the gluten too much. You should not have dry flour streaks, but you will have some lumps. If you are working with gluten free flour, just keep mixing until the batter is nearly smooth.
Step 4: Spoon the batter over the pear mixture. Place pan in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden. Allow the cake to cool for about ½ hour or longer. Dust with the powdered sugar and enjoy!
