Oh Holy Cake!

This morning I swung by the Post Office to pick up my passport and send off some beautiful Christmas cards that my friend makes by hand. I LOVE getting old fashioned snail mail - but nobody seems to send it anymore. It's so much more personal than E-Cards, or whatever. It's feels like Santa just delivered a little mini pre-Christmas gift in my mail box. So, this year I made a point to write at least a few. Anyhow, when I was at the post office I saw their sign said "Only 6 More Mailing Days" left until Christmas. I thought, what???  It's only the beginning of December! Then it occurred to me: Christmas is only 9 days away!! How did that happen?! Where did most of the month go?? Luckily, I'm on top of things:

You know what else I'm on top of? Cake. I heart cake. Cake always reminds me of happy times with family and thus, Christmas. The other day my brother and I teamed up on a cake baking adventure! Since I suck so bad at baking, and he's such a pro, it seemed like the logical thing to do. I wanted to make something sweet, spicy, and aromatic - something festive. So I found a recipe in Jennie Schacht's Farmers' Market Desserts.

This cookbook is great in that Schacht categorizes the recipes seasonally - helping readers to make more ethical and seasonably sound sweet decisions. Yum! Come to think of it, maybe I ought to either create and/or find a local seasonal food guide for here..... hmmmm...

While the cake we decided to make is listed in her "fall" category, we have relatively mild winters here on the island so apples, pears, and many other fresh fruits and vegetables are still in season. Below is the recipe we followed and fell in love with - Ginger Pear Skillet Cake. So delicious. So decadent. So easy.

Ginger-Pear Skillet Cake

Ingredients for Cake

2 1/3 C Unbleached All-Purpose Flour.

1 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger.

1 Tsp Kosher Salt.

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon.

1/2 Tsp Ground Allspice.

1/4 Tsp Ground Cloves (optional).

1/4 C Canola, Grapeseed, or Other Neutral Vegetable Oil.

1/2 C Gently Packed Light Brown Sugar.

1/2 C Unsulfered Dark Molasses.

1/2 C Plain Whole Milk Yogurt or Sour Cream.

1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, finely grated.

1 Large Egg, at room temperature.

1 Tsp Baking Soda.

1/2 C Hot, Fresh Brewed Strong Coffee or Boiling Water (I recommend the coffee for flavor).

Ingredients for Topping

4 Firm-Ripe Pears, peeled & cored (Bosc or Anjou are good).

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces.

1/4 C Gently Packed Light Brown Sugar.

1/4 Tsp Kosher Salt.

What to Do

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, with a rack on the lower third. Oil a 10 or 11 inch cast-iron skillet.

To make the cake, stir together the flour, ground ginger, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves (if using) in a bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together the oil, brown sugar, molasses, yogurt, fresh ginger, and egg in a large bowl until well blended and smooth. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in half of the flour mixture. Stir the baking soda into the hot coffee until dissolves, then add to the batter and stir until combined. Stir in the remaining flour. Transfer the batter to the prepared skillet and spread evenly.

To make the topping, cut the pears lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange the longer slices on the batter in a circle along the edge of the pan, overlapping them slightly and with the narrow ends pointing toward the center. Arrange the shortest slices in a second circle in the center to cover the batter completely. Dot the pear slices with the butter along the outer circle only.

Mix together the brown sugar and salt and sprinkle evenly over the top.

Bake until the top springs back when you press it lightly in the center and a toothpick inserted in the center comes up clean, about 1 hour. Transfer the skillet to the stove top to cool for at least 20 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (I recommend the ice cream!).

Eat!

PS. Will save well in the fridge for up to 4 days or, if wrapped well, will freeze for up to 2 months.