THE PEAR KUCHEN...
this was so fun to make because it was a recipe written in my grandma Leda's handwriting. she passed away a few years ago at almost 108, but i swear she's still with me all the time. i even felt like calling her as i was making this. she was THE grandma of all grandmas. i hope you all had one as special as her.
she actually wrote the recipe using plums, specifically canned purple plums, but i chose to make it with canned pears. canned plums aren't in every store and i've never tried them so i went the safe route...pears. AND i think the size and color lent itself to the texture and visual of the kuchen.
the crust is really the star of the show. it's almost cookie-like. thick and crunchy but soft where needed. i mean it's just pure dense YUM!. so on with the recipe...
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HEAVENLY PLUM KUCHEN (Al's favorite)
copied as written by Grandma Leda
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cream 1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
add- 1 1/4 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
blend and leave out 1/3 c.
press evenly into 8x8x2 pan (i used a 9 in. springform)
place 1 can purple plums-cut in half on crust ( i used pear halves)
sprinkle with 1/3 cup dough mix
bake at 375 for 15 min.
beat 1 egg slightly
stir in 1.c whipping cream to make custard
pour over plums and continue to bake untill top is golden and set... 25-30 min.
i hope this recipe makes sense. i kind of had to decypher it myself, but i gotta tell ya....this kuchen is soooo worth it...and pretty easy. so to all those grandmas out there everywhere, thank you for all your handed down recipes...i can't wait to dig into another one of her treats.
28 comments:
Wow, this recipe really looks wonderful. Do you think it would lend itself to other fruits besides the purple plums, or pears? The crust, as you noted, sure does look delicious and I'm sure it is "the star of the show"! I am bookmarking this recipe right now for definite future use. Thanks for posting it! (I love old recipes that come from people's grandmas and moms and aunts etc.! They have an altogether different vibe from something you pull from a cookbook, do you know what I mean?)
:) Jane
jane...thanks for stopping by. i'm thinkin' this would work well with any stone fruit. maybe peaches, nectarines, apricots...hmmm...try some other stuff and let me know. hand-me-down recipes ROCK.
What a lovely dessert and photos! I do love the crust. I will have to try this out very soon.
This looks absolutely fantastic, I cannot wait to get some good pears and make this! I would love it with a cup of really good coffee... dreaming now.
Hi
Please explain "sprinkle with 1/3 cup dough mix", do you mean like a crumble?
EVA...yes, i guess like a crumble. you'll see that the crust dough mix starts out kind of crumbly, like a shortbread crust. so, it "sprinkles" easily.
This looks lovely, Jules. I'm hoping to make it tomorrow and had 2 questions:
1) Should we press crust up the sides as well as the bottom of the pan? 2) Is there really no sweetener added to the egg+whipping cream custard? Thanks!
xiaolu..
1. yes, push the crust up the sides and 2. no, grandma didn't put sugar in the custard mixture, (maybe due to the canned fruit). if using fresh maybe a little sugar would be needed...
3. i hope you make and enjoy this yummy old school treat.
Wow, this looks amazing and your photos are incredible. I'm going to try it this week. Wouldn't your Grandmother be proud!
OK, I couldn't wait, so I made your pear kuchen for our Oktoberfest dinner tonight. It is amazing - so absolutely incredible that my husband that doesn't eat dessert is finishing the last piece right now. Yes we ate the whole darn thing (2 of us) after bratwurst and red cabbage. Ohhh...we're in trouble tonight, but worth every glorious mouthful. Thank you so much for sharing this treasure with us. We'll be making it again and again - in fact, the big guy just asked for one with rhubarb & raspberries. Not sure if it'll work, but who cares with a crust like this one! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This kuchen was a total smash hit at my Oktoberfest potluck. I've never gotten so many raves on a dessert and the whole thing was gone in about two minutes. One word of warning, I did have one can a pears, but it was definitely not enough (in my opinion.) I added a peeled and sliced apple to give it more body and it worked out great. I will definitely make this again very soon - maybe for Thanksgiving.
Can't wait to try this, and what's great is it looks like just about any fruit will work. I'm eager to try it with figs. Thanks
Checking back in, is there no sugar in the custard (egg & cream) that you pour over the top? Seems like it should have sugar in it? Thanks for clarifying.
hi Tom. nope, no sugar in the custard. there's enough sugar in the crust and the 1/3 dough mixture that you save for sprinkling on the fruit...also the fruit is canned (per grandma) so that usually is sweet enough. i hope you try this and thanks for stopping by.
Jules and Ruby, that is one fine Kuchen. I made it with peaches I canned and oooh-wee baby it was one fine dessert. It took four friends less than 15 minutes to finish it off! (While the compliments were aplenty, I was also chided for not making more.)
The pear is useful in weight loss diets, including food, fiber maintains its fullness and cleanses the body, also have many vitamin and potassium. SO the pear is one of the fruits with more properties and is very easy to find it. Just go at supermarket and you will have varieties to shoose from.
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Hi, I have one question...is the can of pears drained or do you pour the juice over the crust? Thanks!
Hi. Drain the pears. Hope you enjoy as much as we do
Hey Jules! Making this with (very ripe) fresh pears, a bunch left over from a co-op box. I used to make one of these every weekend for the California Cafe, a great french place in Carlisle, PA and I was nostalgic this holiday season for a taste of it. Great recipe, Oliver from the California Cafe would love it!
+kari from south orange, nj
hi Kariniles...i hope this brings back delicious memories. i would love to know how it turns out with the fresh pears instead of canned
I had some canned plums that needed using and thought this looked like the ticket. It came out amazing. Easy, few ingredients, and I didn't even push the dough up the sides of the pan like I was supposed to. Thank you so much.
hey Rat Taxi...so glad you like it...thanks a lot for the report
making this again today with some crumbled up thick sliced applewood bacon and pineapple chunks minus the cinnamon. Couldn't really think of anything to replace the cinnamon!
hi RAT TAXI !!!!...YUMMM!!!!! what a fabulous idea. you had me at BACON !...i will definitely make something like that. please please, i would love to have a report about how delicious it turned out...jules
Hi jules, thanks for sharing your nanas recipe. Just wanted to clarify whether the flour is self raising or plain?
Anonymous...really late reply, but it's regular flour. thanks for reminding me about this treat...will make again soon...Xj
I made this with some plums I canned last summer. It was outstanding! Our dinner guests loved it too. Thank you for sharing this.
Jules, I may have commented in the past but I'm back again. Each time I make this, I re-read your blog post and it warms my heart. I made it again today because I had some fresh pears and company coming for coffee. It was a hit, as always, and my husband LOVES it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and how it came from your grandma. Warmest regards, Diane (in Canada)
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