Friday, February 15, 2008

Gâteau de Mamy à la Poire


As you can tell, I've been a little, tiny, teensy bit obsessed with pears lately. Something about their light, delicate sweetness makes the bolder, brighter fruit seem slightly garish and somehow overdressed in comparison. There is a time for loud and bright - summer, for example, and the middle of winter to chase away the blahs - but now, when everything around me is just waking up and growing and changing in preparation for spring, I crave the subtlety and the reserved nature of the pear. And they have such beautiful names, also - Bartlett, D'Anjou, Harrow Sweet, Luscious, Rosemarie and Summer Beauty - that it's hard to pass them by at the market without buying at least a few. Especially when they reminded me of this delectable recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini that I came across a while ago. How could I resist?!

This is one of those cakes that is as humble as its ingredients (a classic flour/eggs/butter/sugar combination), but the taste is lovely and delicate. It doesn't demand attention, but gives all of your senses a simple and lingering pleasure. You could dress it up with confectioner's sugar or with vanilla ice cream, but you could also just serve it by itself with steaming cups of freshly brewed tea.

Gâteau de Mamy à la Poire (reprinted with many thanks and great respect)
1 stick plus 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 large pears or 6 small ones
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground almonds
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a small bowl and set aside to cool. Butter a non-stick 9-inch cake pan.

Wash, peel and cut up the pears. Lay the pieces of fruit at the bottom of the pan.














In a medium mixing-bowl, whisk the sugar with the eggs until the mixture whitens slightly. Add in the flour, almond powder and baking powder, and whisk well. Pour in the butter, and blend again. Pour the batter evenly over the fruit, and put into the oven to bake for 40 to 50 minutes.









Let the cake settle on a cooling rack for a few minutes. Invert it on a plate (the fruit side will be on top). If any bit of fruit has stuck to the bottom of the pan, simply scrape them and place them back where they belong on the cake. Use a second plate to invert the cake again (the fruit side will then be at the bottom). Let cool and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.


8 comments:

AmyJ said...

This was great! I added about a 1/8 cup of sugar and a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to the pears before putting them in the pan. (I love cinnamon)

It turned out fabulous. Thanks Irene for another great recipe!

Irene said...

Amy! I'm so glad you made this cake, it really hit the spot for us. I didn't even think of putting cinnamon in the pears, but now that you mention it, it sounds great!

Anonymous said...

This recipe is almost identical to the classic Charlotte a'la Russe,but has butter in the batter a'la francaise. What pears do you use: as they must be hard enough not to become mushy?
Fiona

Irene said...

Fiona, it's funny you mention that, because after I had made it, I realized that it's almost exactly like the cake that my grandmother always makes called "Charlotte"). I like it much better with the butter (don't tell my grandma!). For this one, I used very firm D'Anjou pears, which worked out very well.

Anonymous said...

Irene, if you sprinkle the bottom of the pan with plain bread crumbs, the fruit will come off easier (that's based on my experience of making Charlotte a la Russe). I want to make your recipe on Thursday, and I can't wait to taste it.

Fiona

Irene said...

Thanks! I definitely had fruit sticking issues. :D By the way, my grandma makes Charlotte with apples, not pears. Let me know which recipe you like better (the Russian or the French way)!

Anonymous said...

I made it last night but it did not come out perfectly and it was all my fault. 1). I used too many pears; 2) I did not use enough baking soda.
I want to experiment and make the batter completely devoid of baking soda, as I think it interferes with the delicate taste of butter and almonds and tends to leave an aftertaste. The classic Charlotte Russe recipe (yes, of course, apples and only apples) has no baking soda but has, instead, three eggs and not two. So, back to my lab by the oven. More tips on "fruit sticking issues". Always spray the pan with "Baker's Joy" and do sprinkle with plain bread crumbs afterwards, rotating the pan so that the sides will be covered as well. Even though I botched the recipe a little, no fruit stuck to the bottom. I did add (a tiny bit) of brown sugar to pears and it helped caramelize them a little. Irene, as you can tell I am a baking maniac, I am so happy about your blog but I need to restrain myself from writing more. Cheers!

Fiona

Irene said...

No, please, write more!! I don't mind the taste of the baking soda, but I love, love the idea of brown sugar to caramelize the pears. I'll ask my grandma about the eggs v. baking soda. She's notoriously close-mouthed about her recipes ("while I am with you, you don't need to know the recipes"), but I think she might answer a specific question. If you make it with three eggs and no baking soda/powder, let me know how it turns out. Next time, I think I might leave the amount of fruit the same, but double the batter for a higher cake. I really love the flavor of this simple cake and I think it's worth experimenting to find the perfect recipe!