Asian Pear Coffee Cake

It has finally gotten chilly around here. I am so excited to wake up each morning and be freezing. I know I'm a little weird for loving to be cold. Over the past couple of days it has actually become fall, which means new flavors. Fall is my favorite season, not to mention its flavor profiles. The warm spices and crisp apples are just a few of the many perks. I decided on this asian pear coffee cake because of some lovely asian pears picked by family friends at their farm. Pears like that don't just come around all the time, so I knew I had to take advantage of them. I find that both apples and pears taste the best slow cooked with a cake or crumble. Since I wanted to make something that combined the three, I went with a coffee cake. This recipe is moist, but not too dense. It has a delicious crumble on top and the cinnamon pears add a nice texture and juice to the cake. This is great for breakfast, dessert, snack, whatever. Enjoy your first days of fall!

Crumble

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
6 oz butter, cold & unsalted

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter until there are only small lumps of butter.

Place in refrigerator until ready to use.



Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 stick butter, unsalted
1 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
4 medium asian pears

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Mix well in a medium bowl, and set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add vanilla extract until combined.

Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

Do not overmix batter.

Peel and slice asian pears very thinly, about 1/4"-1/8" thick. Toss with 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg. Let macerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, butter a 9" bundt cake pan thoroughly. Pour 1/2 the batter on the bottom, using a spatula to spread. Layer macerated pears on top. Layer the rest of the batter
on top. Remove crumble from refrigerator and pour evenly on top.

Bake for about 50 minutes, depending on your oven, until the top is dark golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 2 hours before removing from pan.

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Apple Pear Galette with Vanilla Sides

While apples and pears are considered more fall-like, we get pretty decent apples and pears all year long. I've never met anyone who didn't love something like apple crisp. While this doesn't have the "crisp" part, the dough does bake like a tart and is slightly crunchy, but more flaky. I made the vanilla ice cream because you simply can't have a dessert like this without it. The two are a pair and cannot be separated.
I made the custards for my aunt's friend, whose father is recovering from a surgery. The only thing he can eat is soft food like puddings and custards. They just wanted vanilla for now, but maybe more flavors in the future.



For the galette dough:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons (or more) ice water
[eggwash+sanding sugar]

Mix flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter; pulse until coarse meal forms. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk and wrap in plastic. Chill 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on a floured work surface 1/2" thick. Cut into 8" diameter circles and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Place 1/3 of a cup of the filling in the center of the circle and fold up edges in one direction. Place a 1/2" cube of butter on the filling. Using a pastry brush, paint the sides of the galette with an eggwash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes depending on your oven.

For the filling:

3 crisp apples
3 crisp pears
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablesooon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Slice apples and pears thinly. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.



For the vanilla bean ice cream:

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean; halved, seeds removed

Whisk ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Place in refrigerator to let vanilla seeds infuse into the cream, for 1 hour. Place in ice cream machine and churn for the amount of time given by manufacturer. Remove from machine and place in air-tight container overnight to harden.

For the vanilla bean custard:

2 cups whole milk
1 cup half and half
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1-inch piece vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
4 large eggs
3 large egg yolks

Combine milk, half and half and sugar in saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk mixture; add bean. Bring to simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Cover and steep 30 minutes.
Strain mixture into medium bowl; cool to lukewarm. Whisk eggs and yolks in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk milk mixture into eggs. Chill until cold.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk custard; pour into caramel-coated dish. Place in large baking pan. Fill pan with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of dish. Cover pan completely with foil, sealing at edges. Bake until center 3 inches of custard moves only slightly when dish is shaken, about 1 hour. Remove from oven; let stand covered 10 minutes. Remove from water; chill overnight.
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