Oven-Baked Pear Pancake
3 months ago

Oven-Baked Pear Pancake 

It’s Comice season, and we can’t get enough of the squat little pears and their red, red cheeks. If you’ve never had one, Comices are really something special. They have a delicate skin and a velvety soft texture, but we love them best for their delectable flavor — intensely sweet, a little floral and so juicy.

They taste amazing in this luxurious pancake, which is perfect for big holiday brunches because it comes together faster than a stack of pancakes, and it’s far more elegant. All you have to do is melt a little butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a hot cast-iron skillet, add the pears and nuts, pour the batter over it and slide the whole thing in the oven.

Fifteen minutes later, you’ve got a giant, fluffy, golden pancake. Made with four eggs and just a wee bit of flour, it’s like a glorious mash-up of our favorite breakfast dishes: It’s light as a crêpe and as fluffy as a Dutch Baby, and it has the soft, custardy interior of an egg bake. The pears and nuts look beautiful fanned across the top of it, and they taste wonderful — lightly caramelized, sweet and crunchy.

This pancake tastes best when it’s hot out of the oven, so you’ll want to have the bacon, coffee and mimosas ready to go when it comes out.

Tip: We like a Pear Pancake for dessert too. A dollop of whipped cream with those caramelized pears and nuts is simply heaven.

6 servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 ripe Comice pears, peeled, cored and sliced
4 eggs, separated into whites and yolks
¼ cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup brown sugar, divided
⅓ cup flour
⅓ cup milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 375 F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine ¼ cup the brown sugar, flour, milk, egg yolks, baking powder and dash of salt in a bowl. Mix well with a fork and set aside.
  3. In an ovenproof skillet or frying pan, combine the butter, ¼ cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook the butter mixture on the stovetop over medium-low heat until butter melts and combines with sugar. Remove from heat.
  4. Arrange half of the pear slices in concentric circles in the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle with the walnuts and arrange the remaining pears on top.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together the egg whites and remaining brown sugar until soft. Add it to the egg yolk mixture, stir to combine and pour the batter over the pear slices.
  6. Bake the pancake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe source: USA Pears

Oven-Baked Pear Pancake