Pear Cranberry Shortcake Recipes

CRANBERRY-PEAR CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the fresh and dried cranberries in a large bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons water and the vanilla and toss to coat. Lightly smash with a potato masher or fork to burst some of the cranberries. Add the pears, cinnamon, allspice and 2 tablespoons flour and toss to coat. Transfer to a 3-quart baking dish.
• Make the topping: Mix the remaining 1 cup flour, the pecans, oats, the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the salt in a medium bowl, then stir in the melted butter. Use your fingers to pinch the topping into small clumps and sprinkle it over the fruit.
• Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PEAR CRANBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter cake pan.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
• Beat together sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer until combined well.
• At low speed, mix in pears and cranberries, then mix in flour mixture until incorporated.
• Spoon batter into pan.
• Bake until a wooden pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Cool in pan 30 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely.
• Make glaze:
• Bring cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, cinnamon sticks, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally, then simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Cool glaze 5 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks, then pour glaze over cake, letting some drip down sides.

UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR CRANBERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Toss the pears, nutmeg and half of the lemon juice together in a bowl.
• Melt the butter with the remaining lemon juice, the salt and 3 tablespoons water in a heavy ovenproof 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the sugar into the skillet and stir to combine. Cook the mixture without stirring, letting it foam and bubble; the butter will separate, which is OK. Watch the mixture carefully while it cooks because once the water evaporates and the sugar begins to change color, things happen quickly. When it becomes the color of light brown sugar, about 10 minutes, remove it from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.
• Being careful not to burn yourself, sprinkle the cranberries and ginger into the caramel. Arrange the pears in the skillet round side-down in concentric circles as nicely as you can, fitting in as many pears as possible.
• Return the skillet to the burner over medium heat and cook until the pears start to soften when you poke them with a knife, 10 to 15 minutes.
• While your pears cook, roll out your Pie Crust on a flour-dusted surface to an 11-inch circle. Cover the crust with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Lay the crust over the pears, tucking it in around the edge of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Bake until the crust is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes.
• Allow the tart to cool until you can handle it, about 10 minutes. Put a plate on top of the tart using heatproof pads and flip it over so the pears are on top. Slice and serve warm with creme fraiche, if using.
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until the butter is evenly distributed but still visible in chunks. While pulsing, add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is just wet enough to hold together when pinched between your fingers. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, form into a disc and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

PERFECT BERRY SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 425 degrees. Mix flour, salt, baking powder and 3 Tbs. sugar in a medium bowl. Grate 2 Tbs. of the butter on the coarse holes of a box grater into dry ingredients; toss to coat. Repeat grating and tossing with remaining butter. Combine egg and half-and-half; pour into flour mixture. Toss with a fork to form large clumps. Lightly press clumps into a ball; add a teaspoon more half-and-half to the bowl if dough won't come together.
• Turn dough onto work surface; press into an 8-by-4- to 5-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 squares, placing them 1 inch apart on a small baking sheet. (Can be refrigerated up to 2 hours before baking.) Before baking, brush tops with optional egg white for a particularly attractive sheen. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbs. sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool until warm, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mix thawed and fresh berries with sugar in a bowl; let stand until sugar dissolves. With a hand mixer, beat cream to soft peaks, gradually adding 1 Tb. sugar, then vanilla.
• Split each cake crosswise; spoon a portion of berries over each cake bottom, then a dollop of whipped cream over berries. Cap with cake top and serve immediately.

GLAZED PEAR SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• In a small cast-iron skillet, saute pears in butter until tender. Remove from the heat; stir in spreadable fruit. , Place cake slices on 4 dessert dishes; top with pear mixture, walnuts and whipped topping.

PEAR-CRANBERRY SHORTCAKE

Steps:

• Lightly grease an 8x8x2-inch square baking pan. Set aside.
• FOR SHORTCAKE:
• In a large bowl, combine flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
• Using a pastry blender, cut in the 1/2 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Stir in currants.
• Combine milk, sour cream and egg; add to flour mixture.
• Stir just to moisten.
• Spread the dough in prepared pan.
• Bake in a 450 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
• Remove from pan.
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• In a large skillet, melt the 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat; stir in the brown sugar and nutmeg until combined.
• Add pears. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add cranberries.
• Cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes more or until cranberries pop.
• Remove from heat.
• Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Serve the shortcake warm topped with fruit mixture and whipped dessert topping.

WARM PEAR SHORTCAKES WITH BRANDIED CREAM

Steps:

• Make biscuits:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Sift both flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into large bowl. Add butter. Rub in with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk; stir to blend. Gather dough into ball.
• Gently knead dough on floured surface until dough holds together. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Using 3-inch-diameter star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out biscuits. Gather dough scraps, reroll and cut out additional biscuits, making total of 24. Arrange biscuits on 2 baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
• Brush tops of biscuits with egg. Bake until biscuits puff and are light golden, about 12 minutes. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cool completely. Wrap in foil. Reheat foil-wrapped biscuits in 350°F. oven about 10 minutes before using.)
• Make pears:
• Toss pears with lemon juice in large bowl. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add pear mixture and sauté until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Remove pear mixture from heat. Add whipping cream and brown sugar, then pear brandy. Bring mixture to boil. Cook until pears are tender and sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Divide pear mixture among 12 bowls. Top with warm biscuits and serve.

GINGER PEAR SHORTCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir together Bisquick mix, granulated sugar, milk and molasses until soft dough forms.
• On lightly floured surface, knead dough 3 to 4 times. Pat dough to 1/4-inch thickness; cut out 12 biscuits with 2 3/4-inch round biscuit cutter. Place on cookie sheet. In small bowl, mix walnuts, ginger, melted butter, cinnamon and cloves. Pat mixture on biscuit tops.
• Bake 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack; cool completely.
• In large bowl, toss pears and lemon juice. In 12-inch skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add pear mixture; stir to coat with butter. Cook 2 minutes; sprinkle with brown sugar. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pears are soft and sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and salt.
• To serve, split biscuits in half. Place biscuit bottoms on dessert plates; top with pear mixture and whipped cream. Replace biscuit tops.

PEAR AND CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Cut a rectangle out of waxed paper to fit an 8x12-inch cake pan. Spray the pan with cooking spray, then place waxed paper liner over the bottom.
• Melt butter in a large skillet. Add 2 cups sugar and cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is bubbling, about 3 minutes. Add pear slices; reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add cranberries.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg together in a bowl.
• Combine remaining 2 cups sugar, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in another bowl using a hand mixer until cake batter is smooth. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in walnuts.
• Pour pear-cranberry mixture into the prepared cake pan. Use a spatula to spread cake batter evenly on top of fruit.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Place a platter on top of the cake pan and carefully flip the pan and platter over, allowing the cake to settle on the platter. Lift cake pan off and serve.