Pear and Rhum Pound Cake
You’ve seen the pan, now here’s the cake…ta-dah!
Did you notice the cake is lopsided? You wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t say a word, right? Not so bad. The cake was great whichever pan you used. Can’t really go wrong with a combination of pear and rhum.
This recipe is based on a Pear and Grappa Pound Cake again found in my current favorite, “The Soprano Family Cookbook” by Allen Rucker and Michele Scicolone. The cake was mentioned by Meadow Soprano in The Sopranos Episode 59 of Season 5. In this episode, she bakes that cake for her grandfather’s birthday party.
This cake is highly recommended. Try it sometime. It has a lovely combination of flavors, is very easy to make and is pretty much full-proof baking, even for higher altitudes.
Ingredients:
1 – 15 or 16 oz. can pear halves or slices
3 c. all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar (1 1/4 c. is fine)
3 large eggs
3 tbsps. grappa, rhum or brandy (4 tbsps. is fine)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Confectioner’s sugar
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 10-inch bundt pan or tube pan.
Drain the pears and reserve 1/2 c. of the liquid. Chop pears into 1/2 inch pieces.
In a medium bowl, sitr together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The mix should turn a very light yellow. Add eggs, one at a time. (TIP: Crack eggs into a measuring cup with a lip so it’s easy to pour into the bowl while beating.) Be sure to beat well after addition, the object is to get each egg thoroughly incorporated into the mix.
Beat in the pear liquid, the grappa/rhum/brandy and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks curdled, that’s the way it should be.
Reduce speed to low, and add flour mix, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat just until blended for about 1 minute ? With a spatula now, mix in the pears.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake until the cake pulls away from the sides, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Don’t forget to turn the pan halfway through baking. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.
Invert cake onto a rack. Cool completely and dust with confectioner’s sugar before transferring to your serving plate.
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