WARM PEAR CAKE

   I made Warm Pear Cake last week for the first time.  I passed over the recipe many times while going through my extensive file of desserts.  It always sounded good to me; still, I never got around to making it... until last week.  And since then, I've made it again.  It was good last week, but I knew it hadn't achieved its full potential.  When I was caramelizing the sugar, my father called.  I knew when I saw his name on the callerID I shouldn't pick up.  I was, after all, right in the middle of caramelizing sugar.  But how can you not talk to your dad when he's on the phone?  The caramel ended up being darker than I prefer.  I also did not use all four pears.  I sliced my pears very thin (see past post on brussels sprouts for explanation), and when I had covered the dark, bitter caramel with only two pears, I didn't see any reason to slice into more.

   Yesterday however, when I made the cake again, I didn't allow any distractions.  The caramel was perfectly golden and I used all four pears, slicing them a fraction thicker and tightly spiraled them throughout the bottom of the pan.  This resulted in the most delicious pear cake that I plan to make again very soon.

                   Gâteau Tiede Aux Poires Mas De Cure Bourse
                                                 WARM PEAR CAKE
                                      adapted from Gourmet magazine

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large firm-ripe Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast, sprinkled over 1 tablespoon    
   lukewarm water
• 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and beaten until smooth

   In a large skillet cook 3/4 cup of the sugar over moderate heat until it begins to melt and continue cooking it, swirling the skillet, until it is a golden caramel.  Pour the hot caramel into a buttered 9-inch round cake pan, rotating it so the caramel coats the bottom, and arrange the pears, overlapping them as much as necessary to get them all in there, over the caramel.  In a bowl, whisk together the flour, the yeast mixture, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and the eggs until the mixture is smooth; whisk in the butter, whisking until the mixture is combined well (it can appear slightly curdled), and pour the mixture slowly over the pears.  Bake the cake in a preheated 300˚F oven for approximately 60 minutes ( I baked mine a little longer, by 5-10 minutes), and while it is still hot unmold it carefully onto a platter.  Serve the cake warm or cold.  I garnished each serving with sweetened sour cream (1 cup sour cream with 2 tablespoons sugar).