Spiced Pear Cake
The spiced pear cake is made by one of our local bakeries. I have long wanted to try to depict something like this myself. I did it. People at home rated it higher than store bought. I didn't make the cake very sweet. I used a lot of spices for the pears. It turned out to be very bright, rich in taste. I added cream cheese to the standard buttercream with condensed milk. I wanted a lighter texture. You can make any shortbread dough for the base. I like the frozen margarine option. I prepared the cake itself in three stages: pear gelled layer, baking the cake layers, cream and final assembly.
Use a mold for the pear jelly slightly smaller than the cake, leaving room for a neat border of cream.
I turned the jelly onto a plate and it stuck, making it difficult to transfer intact. To hide the damage, I covered the top with pastry crumbs; that was not part of my original plan.
Cake diameter: 24 cm.
Pour water into the pan, add sugar (not all at once, then try and add as needed) and add spices. Place on fire and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, peel, core and slice the pears. I first cut it into quarters, then each slice into three more pieces.
Place the pear in boiling water with spices and let it boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer the pear at a gentle simmer for 15-20 minutes. During this time, the pieces should become soft, but retain their shape and not fall apart.
Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid and leave to steep. I had it for about 6 hours.
Carefully remove the pear pieces from the marinade. Strain the marinade through a fine sieve, separate about half a glass and pour in the gelatin. Heat the swollen gelatin until completely dissolved. Do not boil. Mix with the remaining marinade.
Place the pear slices in a springform pan lined with cling film. Cut the remaining pieces into small cubes. They will go into the cream.
Pour jelly over the prepared pears and place in the refrigerator until completely cool.
Mix the egg, sour cream and sugar in a separate bowl.
Grate cold margarine into the flour sifted with baking powder. Mix until crumbly.
Add liquid ingredients and quickly knead the dough. Divide the dough into three equal parts, cover with film and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Roll out the dough on parchment, cut to size and prick with a fork. Bake at 180°C for about 8 minutes until lightly browned. Cool the finished cakes completely.
Beat softened butter until fluffy. Continuing to beat, add caramelized condensed milk one spoon at a time and then cream cheese. Add the diced pears left over from the first layer to the finished cream.
The cream for decoration is made in the same way, only the pear is not added to it. And I made it after the cake had sat overnight in the refrigerator.
Take the ring from the springform pan. Divide the pear cream into three parts. We coat each cake with cream and put it in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours. During this time, the cakes will be well soaked.
Free the cake from the ring. Carefully remove the jelly from the mold and remove the cling film and place it on top of the cake. Line the sides of the cake with cream and cover with crumbs. Decorate the sides and edges with cream.