Have you ever been a guest at someone’s house for dinner and that irritating thing happens: an unplanned and delicious homemade dessert just materializes in front of you, while you’re retiring to their couch after a great meal? And they’re all breezy and “Oh it’s just something I whipped up now…”? And then you are pretty sure that person is a huge liar?
They probably are. Except when they’re not — because I will admit that I’ve been this irritating person on a few occasions. I can therefore vouch that, in fact, there are desserts you can put together pretty easily and quickly and have them on the table in time for coffee and tea (having provided some time for say, a finger or two of bourbon). Better yet, this one pretty much uses stuff you’re going to have around the house, provided you’ve got some flour and eggs and a few pears or apples kicking around. If you’re the kind to keep vanilla ice cream in your freezer on the regular, then you’re golden.
This recipe for a caramelized pear puff pancake is my go-to if we have impromptu dinner guests and I’m feeling the need to put together a last minute dessert. You really just need to slice up a few pears and caramelize them in some brown sugar and cinnamon, then pour a crepe-like pancake batter over the whole thing and throw it in the oven for about 20 minutes. That business will puff up all nice and golden in a pretty impressive way (make sure you show it off before it deflates!).
This is kind of like a sweet, fruity Yorkshire pudding, straddling the line between breakfast and dessert. Tossing some ice cream or whip cream on top will push it into more decadent territory, but it’s definitely great all on its own. You can even make this in advance and serve room temperature if it seems like a pain to do post-dinner, or prep the ingredients in advance and bake it after you eat.
Apples or pears will work with this, or a combination of both. If you’re using pears you might even toss in a few dark chocolate chips or a pinch of crystallized ginger. And while this is company-worthy, I’ve often cut the recipe in half and made it just for two in a smaller skillet when we’re craving something sweet. Note: if you don’t have a non-stick pan that you can put in the oven, then you can use an 11×17 baking dish instead; just transfer the caramelized fruit into the pan, and pour batter over top before baking.
Caramelized Pear Puff Pancake
(Adapted from Bonnie Stern’s Simply Heartsmart Cooking)
Serves 4-6
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3-4 ripe but firm pears or apples, peeled and sliced thin
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger (optional)
⅓ cup brown sugar
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
3 eggs
2 tbsp granulated sugar
½ cup milk
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp icing sugar (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 425F. In a 10-inch non-stick pan with an oven-proof handle, melt butter, then remove half the butter to a medium mixing bowl and reserve.
2. Add pears, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (if using), brown sugar and lemon juice to the pan and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the sugar has melted and started to caramelize.
3. While pears are cooking, combine milk, eggs, sugar and flour with reserved butter and whisk together. Pour batter over pears and put the pan in the oven, baking for 20-25 minutes until puffed up and golden.
4. Remove pan and shake gently to loosen the fruit on the bottom. Place a large plate on top and carefully invert the pancake onto the plate. Dust lightly with icing sugar if desired. Divide into wedges and serve with whip cream or ice cream if you have it.
Sara Chan is a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, food enthusiast, unprofessional home chef and even less professional food photographer. Her favourite food group is pork. Sara’s column appears every other Tuesday here on lawandstyle.ca.