Mmmmmm. This is one of those “meh” looking desserts that shocks your system with pleasant surprise upon first bite. In all honestly, I’d never order something like this if I saw it on a menu. If someone walked out with this at a dinner party, I’d likely be disappointed (it’s just not chocolate, lol). BUT. That’s only because I would have had no idea that a pear cobbler/cake can be so good. And appearance alone can be very misleading, as is the case here.
It’s so good, in fact, that chocolate can be put on hold for a night. It’s a buttery and simple custard-like cake that marries perfectly with the juicy pears. It’s similar to the Baked Pear Custard but more buttery and almost caramel-like along the edges. Perhaps closer in taste to a Pear & Apple Cobbler, just more creamy than cake-y.
I was planning to serve this with vanilla ice cream but what ended up happening instead was that I took a tiny taste, which ultimately lead to many more (less tiny) tastes. This happened all before I even got to the freezer for the ice cream. One chair pulled up to the counter later and 1/4 of the pan demolished, I was quite satisfied with how this bake turned out. In my defense, it was close to dinner time AND it’s a very thin cobbler/cake. It’s short height is easily plow-through-able. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s just a thing.
So, if you’re willing to put chocolate on hold for a night, then please give this recipe a try. I’ll remind you of it again, come Fall, when pears are plentiful. I just happened to find an affordable and organic option recently that I couldn’t turn down. Maybe you will too!
Oh, p.s. this is the easiest recipe ever — it’s like making pancake batter.
A Bee Bakes 