re.CAP: PEAR almond cake & cinnamon brown sugar buttercream

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RER 6.11.14

For some reason, I have recently been in a strange baking frenzy. I can’t even tell if it started with the Caramel Cake or if that was just one of the data points on the graph. Whatever it is, we just don’t need baked goods at all times in our house. I guess, I just have had sweet thangs on my mind. 

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RER 6.11.14

So, my friend and I coordinated, and we made a cake. The intentions were all good. After  reviewing other recipes (which might crop up later), we decided on a Pear Almond Cake with Cinnamon Brown Sugar Buttercream from Country Cleaver.

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Unfortunately, after cutting the pears, everything went a little down hill but there was definitely no dip in fun. First, I couldn’t find the blades for the food processor to chop up our pears to bits and transform them into a smooth puree. Not a problem; we used a different machine.

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And then, the oven didn’t work. Yes, correct, the oven was NOT working. The light went on, it beeped, but it never got warm. I put my head in there and nothing  happened. In fact, it felt cooler in there than it did in the kitchen. All was not lost, batter and greased pans were rushed to my friend’s residence and baked there.

From then on it was almost smooth sailing, until it appeared we did not have enough frosting to hold the cake together and maintain an aesthetic façade. Frenzy ensued while more browned butter was made and watched cool to whip up another half batch of frosting.

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RER 6.11.14

With less than no time to spare, the cake was completed but we had zero seconds to taste it. It was a long wait, but enduring the torture until after the gym to taste our cake was completely and utterly worth it.

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Now this cake, dubbed a ‘fall cake,’ had some of those autumnal notes like the spicy cinnamon, aromatic almond and toasty pear, but something about it felt lively and fresh. It was light enough to be a tidy summer treat, but decadent and layered enough to be comfortable in cooler temperatures. The grainy sweetness of the pear was subtle and coddled by the warmth of the almond extract, while the raw brown sugar and browned butter created texture in the frosting. I mean, it was just plain delicious.

RER 6.11.14

RER 6.11.14

This just goes to show that things do not always start out smooth, but pushing through can have sweet results (see what I did there?). I can not wait to make this cake again (I should say this time just I participated, mainly measuring and taking pics), maybe with a few adjustments per usual! Shout out to my friend for good times and scrumptious cake. Looking forward to our next baking adventure!

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RER 6.13.14