Recipe Friday: Pear and Almond Pudding

This is easy and delicious. It is actually a dessert that I think tastes even better the next day, so if you can bring yourself to leave it alone once it's out of the oven, it'll be even tastier tomorrow.

PEAR AND ALMOND PUDDING

cooking time: 40-45 minutes
serves: 8

Ingredients:

        • 150g unsalted butter, softened
        • 125g caster sugar
        • 2 medium eggs
        • 75g wholemeal self raising flour
        • 75g ground almonds
        • A good pinch of cinnamon
       
        For the caramelised pears:
       
        • 3 pears (reasonably firm, but not rock hard. I use bosc pears, they seem to be better for desserts)
        • 25g unsalted butter
        • 1 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 170°C/gas 3. Grease a 20cm-diameter springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
2. Peel, core and quarter the pears.
3. Melt the 25g butter in a frying pan big enough to take all the pear pieces, over a medium high heat. When it’s bubbling, add the sugar and stir gently until it has dissolved into the butter. Add the pears and cook gently, turning once or twice, until they have softened and are starting to colour – 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with the caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with each to stop the mix curdling.
5. Combine the remaining flour, the ground almonds and the cinnamon, and fold into the mixture. Scrape into the prepared tin(I line the bottom with baking paper to help with removing it later). Arrange the pears on top and pour on any buttery juices left in the pan.
 6. Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
7. Stand the cake in its tin on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes, then release the tin.

Whip some cream to just holding, with a pinch of sugar and vanilla and voila!
Dessert perfection.
You tastebuds will thank you for it.



-Wes-
The Family man.

P.S- Hope you enjoy this recipe. I was actually going to do another recipe I made but didn't get a chance to take photo's so I promise to next week. This is again a "river cottage" classic. But I love it.

P.S- Send me a favourite recipe of yours. I'll try it and post my attempts on the recipe friday page.