A Diana Henry recipe. You need perfectly ripe pears for this. If you can’t find them then first poach the pear slices in a sugar syrup or sauté in butter until tender.
Ingredients
- 3 ripe pears
- 150g blackberries
- 4 tbsp pear eau de vie or Calvados
- 25g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- For the batter
- 150ml milk
- 150ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 3 eggs
- 125g caster sugar
- 50g plain flour, sifted
- Icing sugar, to serve
Method
- 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ fan160°C/gas 4. Halve and core the pears, then cut lengthways into 5mm slices. Put immediately into a bowl with the blackberries. Pour over the eau de vie and toss well to cover.
- 2. Make the batter. Mix the milk, cream and vanilla essence together. Butter a gratin dish (metal or cast iron is best as it conducts the heat well). Using a slotted spoon, arrange the pear and blackberries in the dish and add any eau de vie left behind to the batter mixture.
- 3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and a pinch of salt together until it triples in volume and is pale and fluffy – you need a powerful beater. Fold in the flour, then add the milk mixture.
- 4. Pour the batter onto the pear slices, dot with the butter and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the batter is set. Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes. Sift a little icing sugar over the top before serving warm.
Nutritional info
PER SERVING 600kcals, 33.1g fat (18.9g saturated), 9.4g protein, 61.9g carbs, 52.4g sugar, 0.2g salt
Wine Recommendation
Pair this with a light and crisp sweet wine. Try a sweet Loire white, such as Coteaux de Layon or
Bonnezeaux, or a German Riesling.