Rustic desserts that pair soft, tart fruit with buttery-crisp toppings are one of most favourite things to bake: they’re easy to throw together, completely foolproof, and always warm and comforting. Recipes abound but this one, is a stand-out thanks to the combination of sweet D’Anjou pears and tart dried cherries, which are plumped up in an orange-scented caramel syrup before baking.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour: 0.5 cup (plus 2 tablespoons, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off)
- sugar: 0.25 cup (plus 2 tablespoons)
- nutmeg: 0.5 tsp
- cinnamon: 0.5 tsp
- salt: 0.2 tsp
- unsalted butter: 6 Tbsp (cold, cut into 1/4-inch pieces)
- walnuts: 0.75 cup (coarsely chopped)
- sugar: 3 Tbsp (For the Filling)
- unsalted butter: 2 Tbsp (For the Filling)
- orange juice: 2 Tbsp (For the Filling)
- orange zest: 1 tsp (For the Filling)
- vanilla: 0.5 tsp (For the Filling)
- salt: 0.2 tsp (For the Filling)
- tart cherries: 0.5 cup (dried, For the Filling)
- large D'Anjou pears: 4 piece (peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 4 cups), For the Filling)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Begin by making the walnut streusel topping.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
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Add the cold butter.
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Rub the butter in with your fingertips until mixture begins to clump together.
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It should look like this.
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Stir in the walnuts, then cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
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Combine the sugar, butter, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla and salt in a medium pan.
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Stir over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil.
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Add the cherries.
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Then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the cherries begin to soften and the liquid is caramel colored and thickened, 2-3 minutes.
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Remove from the heat, then add the pears (it’s important to do this right away, as the pears cool the mixture and prevent it from over-caramelizing); stir until pears are evenly coated with caramel sauce.
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Transfer the fruit mixture to a small baking dish.
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Sprinkle the walnut streusel mixture evenly over top.
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Then bake for 45-50 minutes, until the pears are tender and the top is crisp and golden. Serve warm or room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
