First, the idea. Like most things in this world, the start
is small. The seed could be anything - a flavour pairing seen on a dessert menu
in a restaurant, a sudden craving, new season fruit at the market, or the
rediscovery of a long forgotten ingredient at the back of a cupboard.
Second, the development. Armed with coffee and my kitchen
notebook, I take that first inspiration and begin to imagine the bare bones of
a recipe. I wonder if those flavours would work in an enriched dough? Could I
candy that fruit? Which secondary flavours – sugars, spices, herbs or grains –
will make this ingredient sing? And perhaps more importantly, what mood am I
in? Is this a slow cook, or do I just want something quick and delicious?
Next, the first draft. With the skeleton of an idea in mind,
I’ll start to think logistically. I’ll consult my own recipe archive – how much
cinnamon did I add to that cake? How long did those cookies take to bake in the
end? I’ll also reference my extensive collection of cookbooks, to check that my
imagined ratios and timings make sense. What would Nigel Slater do? Didn’t
Elizabeth David make a plum cake with hazelnuts once? And perhaps before any of
this – has the wonderful Felicity Cloake already done the hard work for me?
And then, the test drive. After shopping for or gathering
together my ingredients and equipment, I test the recipe. I note down any
changes – that’s far too much chocolate, this oven temperature is too high –
but also roll with the punches. Sometimes things don’t turn out as I’d
imagined, but are even more delicious for it. Baking is a paradoxical mix of
precision and flare, after all.
This recipe was one such happy accident. A mismatched and
quickly ripening bowl of pears, combined with a thrown together crumble made
from store cupboard ingredients. If you
don’t have pear liquer, use wine or water. I couldn’t resist a little decadence
in my mid-week dessert.
pears
3 ripe conference, comice or william pears
10g butter
25g golden caster sugar
25ml pear liqeur, white wine or water
40g dark chocolate, finely chopped
crumble
40g wholemeal buckwheat flour
Pinch sea salt
½ tsp ground ginger
30g butter, cubed
20g muscavado sugar
30g rolled oats
30g hazelnuts, lightly toasted
Heat the oven to 180°C.
Peel the pears, then slice them in half and use a teaspoon
to neatly scoop out the cores.
Melt the butter and golden caster sugar in a small saucepan.
Once golden and dissolved, add the wine, vermouth or water and turn up the
heat. Add the pears and saute. Remove as soon as they are golden and well
coated in the butter and sugar. Transfer to a small ovenproof dish, pouring
over any remaining cooking syrup, and allow them to cool. Scatter over the
finely chopped chocolate.
For the crumble, whisk together the buckwheat flour, salt and
ground ginger in a large bowl. Add the butter, and rub into the flour using
your fingertips. Continue until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir
through the muscovado sugar, oats and hazelnuts.
Sprinkle the crumble over the pears. Bake in the preheated
oven for 20-25 minutes, until the crumble topping is golden and the fruit is
bubbling.
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