Here's an even easier version:
Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) of regular, salted butter, melted, plus more for the pan. By using regular butter, you can omit the 1/2 teaspoon of salt called for in the original recipe.
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk substitution. There's no need to buy the buttermilk called for in the original recipe. Put 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup. Add any milk to the 1/2 cup line. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2 large eggs, whisked
1 - 15 ounce can of sliced pears packed in pear juice. Separate the pears from the juice. Reserve the juice in a small sauce pan. The original recipe calls for 2 fresh pears. Since rock hard pears take at least a week to ripen, there's too much advanced planning in using fresh fruit.
Fresh or dried rosemary, whatever you have.
Method
I didn't use a springform pan, but I should have. I used a bundt pan, and that was tricky. This cake is moist since it is filled with fruit. It also does not rise very high. Turning it out of any pan, then flipping it back so the top shows invites the possibility of it breaking into pieces. To keep things most simple, make it in a 9" X 9" glass pan and serve it straight from the pan.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9" X 9" glass baking dish.
Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and one cup of sugar in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk substitute, 2 eggs, and melted butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. Fold the sliced, canned pears into the batter.
Transfer the batter to the buttered baking dish. Bake for about 45 - 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, add about six sprigs of fresh rosemary or about 1-1/2 tablespoons of dried rosemary to the pear juice. The original recipe directs you to make sugar/water syrup. Just use the pear juice from the can. Heat over medium heat to nearly boiling or until the rosemary aroma rises from the pan. Set aside for 30 minutes (if using dried rosemary) or up to four hours (if using fresh). Remove the sprigs or strain out the dried herb.
While the cake is warm, brush the top with rosemary syrup. You won't use all of the syrup.
Serve warm or at room temperature. The original recipe says you can serve with whipped cream, but I don't think you need it.
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| Photo from Real Simple site by Marcus Nilsson. |
This is delicious. For those of us watching our cholesterol, it is a bit rich. Here's how I would make it cholesterol free:
Instead of 8 tablespoons of melted butter, use 1/2 cup canola oil. Or fiddle around with a canola/applesauce mixture. If you must have the buttery taste, use 4 tablespoons butter and 4 tablespoons canola. Just remember, once you eliminate the salted butter, in whole or in part, you have to add back the salt that the original recipe calls for to avoid a bland taste.
Instead of buttering the pan, use cooking spray.
Use fat free milk for making the buttermilk substitute. You can also use real buttermilk because it is virtually fat free.
Use 1/3 cup of egg white instead of 2 whole eggs.
Now, if you want an insanely simple version of this cake, maybe this would work:
Mix up one or two boxes of Jiffy® corn muffin mix according to the directions on the package. Mix in some or all of a 15 ounce can of drained, sliced pears. Pour into a greased baking dish and bake at 350° F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Prepare the rosemary syrup as explained above and brush it on the cake. Might just work.
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