Yummy pear or apple dessert to end the year off nicely (Desserts)

Member Name: belfin

Product:	Desserts
Date:	31/12/05 (1787 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: sweet, sticky, just what's needed for a good pud.

Disadvantages: never enough of it.

As it's the end of the year and I haven't yet posted a recipe yet I thought I would leave you with a favourite of ours that is both easy and cheap to make but tastes gorgeous. There are a couple of variations to this which I will add in at the end but I'll start with the basic recipe first.

Caramel Pear Pudding

Preparation: This takes around 10-15 minutes to prepare

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Dish Needed: Flat round 9" ovenproof dish

Total Calories: 1,380

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 medium eggs
225g/8ox soft dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 and a half teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
3 firm pears, peeled, cored and halved (or 1 tin if you are lazy)
50g/20oz sultanas
brown sugar to decorate
ice cream or double cream to serve

Before you start be sure to remember to turn on your oven to preheat to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.

Whisk your eggs and sugar together for a couple of minutes before blending in your plain flour, baking powder and coriander.

Take one of the pear halves and chop it finely to add into your mixture along with the sultanas.

Cut the other pears into slices but leave them joined at the top end so that you can make a fan design with them into the bottom of your dish.

Once the pears are in your dish, pour the mixture evenly over them and pop them in the oven til the top is crispy and golden. When you take it out sprinkle some brown sugar over the top and serve immediately with either ice cream or cream.

************************************************* *************

Variations

There are a number of variations of this pudding that you can do. Try these for a different taste.

Substitute 50g/2oz chocolate buttons in place of the sultanas if you are like us and love puddings with a chocolatey theme.

Try using apples or peaches instead of the pears. Fanning out isn't so easy but just layer them in the bottom of your dish and you can't go wrong. Tinned or jarred fruit work just as well as fresh and if you're like our family we always keep some tinned peaches or jars of apple sauce on hand in the cupboards for pudding emergencies.

Coriander is a lovely orangey flavoured spice and is great with this dish but for a different flavour try cinnamon or even ginger to change the flavour as you like.

Our personal favourite is the original recipe but with the chocolate buttons instead of the sultanas served with thick double cream and for those of us in the family who don't like Christmas Pudding this was a lovely alternative for dessert.

It is great at any time of the year though and is nice served cold too so no need to heat up any leftovers if you manage to leave any. It's also nice to have as a dessert at a barbecue with cold ice cream.

Summary: Enjoy