Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child – serves 6 - from My Carolina Kitchen
3 cups peeled, cored, and sliced ripe pears (1 ¼ to 1 ½ lbs pears)
¼ cup sweet white wine, kirsch, or cognac
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Batter:
Liquid from the pears and enough milk to equal 1 ¼ cups
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
An electric blender
A 7-8 cup lightly buttered, fireproof baking dish or Pyrex pie plate
Powdered sugar for garnish
Toasted almonds for garnish, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use fresh pears in season and let them stand for 1 hour in the sweet white wine, kirsch, or cognac and sugar.
Place the batter ingredients in your blender jar in the order in which they are listed. Cover & blend at top speed for 1 minute. Pour a ¼” layer of batter in the lightly buttered baking dish or pie plate. Put in the oven to let the batter set. Spread the drained pears over the batter, then pour on the rest of the batter and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.
Place in middle position of preheated oven and bake for about an hour. It is done when it has puffed and browned and a needle or knife plunged into its center comes out clean. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar & toasted almonds just before bringing to the table. It need not be served hot, but should still be warm. It will sink down slightly as it cools.
If desired, serve with whipped cream sprinkled with brown sugar as a garnish.