Double Crust Pear Pie

Double Crust Pear Pie
Apple pie and pumpkin pie are staples in the fall, but they’re not the only fruit pies worth putting on your dessert table! This Double Crust Pear Pie takes advantage of in-season pears and showcases them in this lovely double crust pie as an alternative to – or an addition to! – your …

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Double Crust Pear Pie
Apple pie and pumpkin pie are staples in the fall, but they’re not the only fruit pies worth putting on your dessert table! This Double Crust Pear Pie takes advantage of in-season pears and showcases them in this lovely double crust pie as an alternative to – or an addition to! – your usual holiday pie line up.

The filling for this pie calls for a lot of pears. Pears are absolutely delicious and underappreciated when it comes to baked goods. Many of us eat pears as-is or serve them as part of a cheese platter or salad. But they make a fantastic addition to baked goods of all kinds!

I like the honeyed sweetness of Bartlett pears, which maintain a nice texture after baking. D’anjou pears can also be used, but they tend to be a bit smaller, so you may need more of them. There are many varieties of pears out there – which you may not see at a grocery store, but will definitely see at farmers markets in your area – and you can always experiment with different types, as long as they are crisp and not mealy. Regardless of what type of pear you work with, you need to select pears that are just barely ripe for best results in this recipe. Not only are they easier to handle and peel, but they hold their shape well when baking.

I added sugar, allspice, vanilla and a bit of salt to the filling. Allspice is a wonderful flavor to pair with pears, though cinnamon and nutmeg could also be nice additions. I added little bit of cornstarch to the filling and, while you could get away with not using it, I recommend it because pears can give off a lot of juice while they are baking and you don’t want your pie crust to get soggy.

I used an all butter crust that I made in the food processor. You can always cut the butter in by hand, but the food processor makes the process quick and easy, and I love being able to take advantage of the time savings when I can. The crust can be made up to two days ahead of time, if you want to work ahead, too.

The pie needs to cool completely before slicing so that the juices have a chance to thicken up and redistribute themselves in the fruit. The crust should be deeply browned and the pears should be tender. Serve as-is, or slightly warmed up with a scoop of vanilla or butter pecan ice cream on the side.

Double Crust Pear Pie
All-Butter Crust
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup butter, cold and cut into chunks
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
6-8 tbsp cold water

Filling
2 1/2 lbs firm Bartlett pears (5-8, depending on size).
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp heavy cream, for topping

Make the Crust
In a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt and pulse to combine. Add in butter and pulse until it is broken into chunks about the size of a pecan or large almond. Drizzle in the water while pulsing the machine until a shaggy dough starts to come together. If dough is too dry to form a ball, add additional 1-2 tbsp of water.
Shape dough into two balls and flatten balls into discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Make and Bake the Filling
On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the pie dough until it is large enough to fill a 9-inch pie plate (place plate over rolled-out crust; it is large enough if you have about 2-inches extra all the way around). Transfer crust to pie plate and press into place, leaving extra dough hanging over the sides. Chill for 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 425F.
Peel the pears, then cut them lengthwise and remove the cores with a melon baller. Cut each half into four slices and place in a large bowl. Add sugar, salt, allspice, vanilla and cornstarch to the bowl and toss to combine. Let pears sit while you roll out top crust.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining pie of pie dough until it is large enough to cover the top of the pie. Use a decorative cookie cutter to cut vents in the top of the pie, or simply make 5-7 slits on the top with a knife.
Fill crust base with pears, arranging them as evenly as possible.
Brush overhanging pastry of the bottom crust with a little heavy cream. Place top crust on top of the pears, pressing where the cream is to seal the pastry. Cut off excess with a knife and flute the edge. Brush top crust with remaining cream.
Bake at 425F for 20 minutes, then turn heat down to 375F (without opening the oven door) and bake for an additional 50-65 minutes, or until the juices from the pie are bubbling thickly through the vents. Allow pie to cool completely before slicing.

Serves 8-10.

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Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel

I’m a big fan of all pumpkin baked goods, especially in the fall. I’m just as happy to start to the day with a piece of Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel, as I am to end it with a slice of pumpkin pie. The coffee cake is light …

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Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel

I’m a big fan of all pumpkin baked goods, especially in the fall. I’m just as happy to start to the day with a piece of Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel, as I am to end it with a slice of pumpkin pie. The coffee cake is light and fluffy, yet loaded with pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavor. It’s always a hit and disappears even faster than pumpkin pie in my house. Bake it up for a fall brunch or simply make a batch to treat yourself if you’re a pumpkin fan, like me!

The coffee cake is made in two parts: the cake and the streusel. The cake comes together very quickly and uses a whole can (15-16oz) of pumpkin puree. If you do a lot of baking with pumpkin, you’ll know that many recipes don’t use a whole can, leaving you with a small quantity of leftover puree. The pumpkin puree actually takes the place of any liquid dairy (where you might use buttermilk or sour cream in another coffee cake recipe) and turns the batter a beautiful orange color. There is a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice in the batter, too.

The streusel is made in a second bowl after the cake batter. It comes together even more quickly, since it uses melted butter, and clumps together easily to make a very visually appealing – and very tasty – streusel topping. I only used cinnamon in the streusel because I didn’t want to go crazy with the pumpkin pie spices. The cinnamon in the streusel compliments the cinnamon in the spice mix from the cake, making it stand out without dominating the flavor of the pumpkin itself.

The cake has a surprisingly light, tender crumb and contrasts well with the crisp, buttery streusel on top of it. Thanks to the pumpkin puree, the cake is quite moist and keeps very well for a couple of days after baking. While the cake should be cool before you cut into it, I like to warm up the slices for a few seconds in the microwave before serving them. Feel free to mix up up to 1/2 cup of chopped nuts or chopped toffee bits if you want to add some extra textures or flavors to this cake, too.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel
Cake:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree

Streusel:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Make the cake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice.
Stir 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, followed by half of the pumpkin puree. Stir in an additional 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the pumpkin. Stir in remaining dry ingredients and mix until no streaks of flour are visible. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Set aside while you prepare the streusel.

Make the streusel: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt and ground cinnamon. Pour in butter and vanilla and, using a fork, stir until the mixture has the consistency of wet sand. Grab the streusel mixture in your hands and squeeze to create clumps of streusel. Sprinkle streusel mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter.

Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before slicing. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Serves 9-12.

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Maple Syrup Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Maple Syrup Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I use lots of pumpkin puree during the fall, making old classics like Pumpkin Pie and new favorites like Churro Pumpkin Blondies. I come back to the classics time and again, of course, but I’m always on the lookout for recipes to add to the …

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Maple Syrup Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I use lots of pumpkin puree during the fall, making old classics like Pumpkin Pie and new favorites like Churro Pumpkin Blondies. I come back to the classics time and again, of course, but I’m always on the lookout for recipes to add to the new favorites list. This Maple Syrup Pumpkin Bundt Cake is a recipe that recently became a repeat in my kitchen. The bundt cake uses plenty of pumpkin puree and real maple syrup, along with a generous dose of pumpkin pie spices, for a wonderfully moist cake that is packed with fall flavors.

Pumpkin has a natural sweetness that works well with a variety of sweeteners. Molasses, either in the form of brown sugar or liquid molasses, is one of the most commonly added pumpkin flavors. Molasses is delicious, but can overpower the more delicate flavor of pumpkin. Maple syrup brings a wonderfully light, sweet maple flavor to the cake and still lets the pumpkin shine through. A maple syrup glaze on top of the cake highlights the maple flavor even more.

When it comes to baking with maple syrup – especially in a recipe like this one, where pumpkin and spices are also prominent flavors – the maple flavor is more subtle than when you use a maple extract in a cake. Maple extract adds a big dose of strong, praline-like maple flavor and will really put it at the forefront of the cake. I prefer to stick with pure maple syrup, opting for a darker syrup (dark amber/robust) that has a relatively intense flavor, rather than using the extract, but you can add in a 1/2 teaspoon to the cake batter if you really want to up the overall maple flavor. Maple extract tends to be very strong, so use a light touch if you decide to include it!

The cake is dense and moist, with a great pumpkin flavor. It’s not overly sweet, so the glaze is a nice finishing touch for the recipe to add an extra touch of maple. The cake could be served for dessert, or alongside a fall brunch, as it is excellent with coffee. If you want to change things up, you can fold in up to 3/4 cup of finely chopped, toasted nuts to add some texture to the cake. Both pecans and walnuts go very well with maple and pumpkin. The cake will keep for several days after baking, so feel free to either nibble on it in tiny slices over the course of the day or indulge in a big slice all at once!

Maple Pumpkin Bundt Cake
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1 15-oz can (approx 1 1/4 cups) pumpkin puree

Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1-2 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the vegetable oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
Whisk together milk and pumpkin puree in a small bowl or measuring cup.
Stir about 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, followed by half of the pumpkin mix. Stir in another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining pumpkin and the remaining flour. Mix only until ingredients are just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain visible. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer
Bake for about 45 min, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly touched.
Cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cake is cooled, whisk together all glaze ingredients in a small bowl, adding heavy cream until glaze reaches a pourable consistency, and drizzle over the top of the cake.

Makes 1 bundt cake; serves 10-12

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