so yes. you will see so many cakes here. and yes that's bad, bad, bad. i agree. i should behave.
my longtime trick in the sweets area is to lovingly carefully make something i love -- and then take a slice for each family member, just one (just one), then take the rest to friends or the office.
social responsibility, waistline management, whatever. world peace could happen this way, i swear. try it.
this recipe is not for anjou pears. it's for those awful texture-y bartletts that some people have in their yards. at the end of the summer, the pears fall like mad, and the pear-tree owners look at you pleadingly like, you know, zucchini gardeners, and beg you to take their pears. take a bag, they say. here, go into the yard and just take what you want.
this cake gives you permission to go and take all the pears you want. it's cheap, super easy, and delicious. make a few at the same time and take one to your friend who's had a shitty week.
first:
peel and dice 4-6 bartlett pears. toss them with 1 tbsp sugar.
beat:
3 eggs
2 c sugar
1.25 c melted butter (eeek! yes this is a southern recipe)
2 tsp vanilla
add:
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
mix all together with 1.5 cups chopped pecans. walnuts will work but they sometimes get bitter.
pour into a prepared bundt pan.
bake at 350 degrees for an hour or until a toothpick tests clean.
turn it out onto a rack. place a plate beneath it.
when it's cool to the touch, mix:
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c butter
1/4 c evaporated milk
bring to a boil in a small saucepan. then cook on medium for 2.5 minutes, stirring constantly. ooooh, caramel or something like it.
pour the glaze over the cake.
it helps if you move the cake to a plate with parchment or wax paper beneath; otherwise the glaze sticks.
works well without the glaze as well.
and yes, then go to the gym. but with love in your heart.
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