Pear Crumble

A recipe for an exceptionally delicious pear crumble cake

tools: a small pot with a lid, a big bowl and an English cake baking pan.

and an oven...

ingredients:

for the pears:

5-6 big coreless pears peeled and sliced.

6-7 spoons of sugar ( and another 2 of brown sugar)

a pinch of black pepper. a medium cinnamon stick broken into big enough pieces to find later.

a cardamon seed which you must find later on as well.

and a little hot water ( 5-6 spoons)

for the dough:

half a cup grounded almonds and nuts (hazel or any other)

a cup of white sugar

a pinch of salt

2 cups of regular flour

150 gr. of unsalted butter. soft but not heated.

put all the ingredients for the pears in a pot and all the dough's in a bowl.

pear pot:

the pears, sugar, brown sugar, water, cinnamon and cardamon on a low flame, mixed every few minutes. after 10 minutes cover with the lid and let it all boil while stirring it every 3 minutes. after 15 minutes take the lid off and reduce liquids. another 5 minutes and it is done. 30 min. all together.

while stirring you may start with the dough:

the dough is a simple pastry dough (short-bread) with the nuts and almonds added. the dough must be hand-made, connecting the butter with the flour. the process must be quick, put all the ingredients into the ball with the butter diced into small cubes last. the idea is to make a dough where the biggest chunk of butter i would find in it is not bigger than a pea. 3 minutes tops for playing with it, and make sure your hands are cold (you can hold a cold bottle before starting). when it is done role the dough into a big ball, nylon it and refrigerate it! for 10 minutes.

it's time to turn the oven on.

find those cinnamon pieces and cardamon seed and remove them.

so now you got a chilled pear jam and a cold dough.

use a quarter of the dough to create the surface for the cake on the bottom of the baking pan. don't make it too tight but try to create an even base. add the pears and than take the rest of the dough and break it between your fingers like you would do with sand on the beach. don't tighten it, leave it as it falls on the cake. you can leave a little bit of the pears and spread it on top of the dough or try and make layers with the dough and pears. you can make it in small dishes instead of a big one.

that's it. into the oven (180C) till it's golden brown about 25 minutes. . let it chill before digging in. best served with a vanilla ice cream scoop.

of course this cake can be made with any other kind of fruit or vegetable     (minus the sugar) or meat or fish or nevermind... Bon AppetiT.