Toasted milk and pear cake #2

I've returned with a better version of a very good cake

The cake is very soft, has a lot of caramely notes that are balacanced with the sweet and slightly acidic pears.

I made a toasted milk + browned butter + pear cake last year; inspired by the ingredients and flavors in my moms milk halwa. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the other recipe, BUT I do have two improvements: a) this one is easier to make (read: no waiting for the butter to cool and no whisking with an electric whisk) and b) has more pear flavor since there is both pear in the batter and macerated pears on top of the cake.

---

Click to watch the recipe video

---

Ingredients

Ingredients for the cake

• 100 g butter (i use salted butter. Add a pinch of salt if using unsalted)

• 25 g milk powder

• 150 g caster sugar

• 1 medium egg

• 150 g all purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 200 g cubed pear (about 1-2 ripe pears depending on their size)

• 25 g water

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Ingredients for the macerated pears (that go on top of the cake)

• 1-2 pears depending on their size

• 3 tbsp sugar

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp vanilla

Notes:

• It’s baked in a 23 cm (or 9 inch) cake tin.

• I usually use conference or bartlett pears for this recipe for the best flavor and texture. Oh and make sure they’re ripe!

Method

Step 1: Toast the powdered milk

• Add the milk powder to a wide pan and toast it on medium heat until it gets fragrant and visibly brown, make sure to stir it around during the whole toasting process.

• This will take about 5-7 minutes.

• Transfer to a bowl to stop the toasting.

Step 2: Brown the butter

• To brown the butter, add 100 g butter to a saucepan and cook on medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes. If the butter bubbles too much, turn it down to medium heat. Stir throughout this whole process.

• After bubbling, the butter will start to foam on top. This is when the browning will happen. Keep stirring and scrape the bottom of the saucepan while doing so.

• When the butter has a medium-dark brown color, remove the saucepan from the stove and pour into a bowl to cool while preparing the pears.

Step 3: Prepare the pears

• To make the pear puree for the batter: Remove the stem and core of 1-2 pears, weigh out 200 g pear chunks, add to a blender with 25 g water and 1 tbsp lemon juice, blend until smooth. Set aside.

• To prepare the pear slices that go on top of the cake before baking: Remove the core and stem of 1-2 pears and slice thinly. Add to a shallow bowl and top with 3 tbsp caster sugar, 3 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix gently to coat the pear slices. Set aside.

Step 4: Make the batter

1. Preheat your oven at 175 C (350 F).

2. Line the bottom of a 23 cm (9 inch) cake tin with parchment paper.

3. Whisk the sugar, egg and vanilla for a minute or two until pale in color.

4. Add the browned butter in 2-3 increments, and make sure to whisk in between each addition.

5. Add in the pear puree and whisk.

6. Add the toasted milk powder, the flour, baking powder, baking soda and whisk until just mixed.

7. Pour into the cake tin and top with the macerated pear slices.

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.

9. Once baked, I like to top it with pearl sugar or demerara sugar for the crunch.