Via hopefulkitchen.blogspot.com
Pecan Pear Custard Cake
makes one 9″ x 13″ cake
Ingredients
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup yogurt (I prefer Greek yogurt because of it’s thickness)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour (unbleached or a mixture of 2 cups unbleached and 1/2 cup whole wheat)
1/4 cup wheat bran (optional — or just use more whole wheat flour)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup pear puree
1/2 cup chopped pecans, plus a handful of nice halves for the top of the cake
1 pear sliced thinly, for top of cake
Directions:
1. Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 9″ x 13″ pan
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolk, buttermilk, yogurt, pear puree and vanilla extract.
3. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl.
4. Whisk the sugars into the flour mixture.
5. Cut the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until the butter is the size of small peas.
6. Mix the liquid into the dry ingredients, without over mixing. Add the pecans at the end, with as few strokes as possible.
7. Pour into the prepared 9″ x 13″ pan.
8. Place the thinly sliced pear and pecan pieces on top of the cake, in whatever decorative pattern you want.
9. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes. The batter may still be moist: this cake will be more dense and moist than a regular ‘cake’.
10. Cool on a rack before slicing and serving, warm or at room temperature, or even cold from the fridge.
11. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat in the oven or toaster oven.