Caramel pear cobbler

This recipe from my book, Bake Smart, was inspired by Southern chef extraordinaire Virginia Willis’s genius recipe for blackberry cobbler. Hers was the first I’d tasted where a lean cake batter was baked over fruit to create a multi-layered, juice-soaked, pudding-like dessert with a lovely crisp top and stewed-berry bottom.

In the past, I’d always topped my cobblers with biscuits for fall baking, which is tasty, but that keeps the two entities a bit more separate. This version is like Virginia’s but uses caramelized pears and a buttery cake layer to create the perfect one-pot fall indulgence.

Ingredients (serves 8)

• PEARS
• 3 tablespoons (⅜ stick; 42 grams) butter
• 3 medium-firm Bosc pears, cored and cut into 8 wedges each
• 3 tablespoons (38 grams) dark or light brown sugar
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• BATTER
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick; 113 grams) butter, melted
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (236 grams) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (136 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Crème Anglaise for serving

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• PREPARE THE PEARS
• In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat, (if the heat is too high, the caramel may separate. Fear not! Once the pears start cooking, they will release some juice and the whole mess will smooth out). Add the pears and spread them out into an even layer. Add the brown sugar and salt and cook until the pears are lightly-browned in spots but not too soft and the caramel has thickened slightly, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer the pears to a plate and wipe out the skillet (no need to wash it).
• PREPARE THE BATTER
• In a large bowl, stir together the butter, sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and stir to combine.
• Add the batter to the skillet and spread it into an even layer. Top with the pears and any accumulated juices. Sometimes the pears sink into the batter. Sometimes they don’t. Either way, the cobbler will be great.
• Bake until the cake is set, about 45 minutes. You should be able to gently touch the cake in the center and feel that it’s firm. Serve big, warm scoops of cobbler topped with crème anglaise – it swirls with the caramel-flavored pear liquor to create creamy layers of hot and cold, tart and sweet.

Read about Sam Seneviratne's passion for sourcing seasonal fruit and vegetables at the local farmstand and incorporating them into her favorite bakes in our interview with her on farmstand fall baking.