Pears in poetry, pears in art, pears in history, pears in life. Quintessentially feminine and delicious. Luscious when ripe and baked in cream, pears dusted with sugar, cardamom and vanilla. A simple plate of goodness.
Pears from our pear tree last summer. The tree is already heavy with young, thumb size fruit. The anticipation is dreamy.
Cut, cored and peeled. Baked.
Warm from the oven I can think of few things I like better than the first bite. Market pears will do until fall.
Cream-Baked Cardamom and Vanilla Bean Pears
Ingredients:
- 4 small ripe, but firm pears, peeled, cut in half and cored
- 4 Tablespoons butter, room temp, divided
- 1/4 cup raw sugar, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- beans scraped from one vanilla bean
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Smear bottom of a pie dish with 2 Tablespoons of the butter. Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoons raw sugar.
- Mix together in a small bowl the remaining raw sugar, the cardamom and vanilla beans.
- Place pear halves, cut side down, in the bottom of the pie dish.
- Melt remaining 2 Tablespoons butter and brush over the pears. Sprinkle with the sugar mixture.
- Gently pour heavy cream around the pears. Place dish in the oven.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until pears are just tender and the cream has thickened. Remove dish from oven to cool on a wire rack. Serve pears and cream warm or at room temperature.
Teresa Blackburn www.teresablackburnfoodstyling.com
[/recipe}