This brown butter pear skillet cake is purely divine with the perfect combination of a moist and flavorful brown butter cake, sweet slices of pears and toasted almonds!
Okay, so I have a confession. I have never baked with brown butter until I made this brown butter pear skillet cake. My mind is completely blown over how delicious brown butter is in baked goods. I love how its rich nutty flavor infused this brown butter pear skillet cake with the most incredibly fragrant flavor. The brown butter perfectly complements the sweetness of the pears and the added crunch from the almonds pulls everything together into an amazingly scrumptious treat. I can honestly say that is will not be my last time baking with brown butter. It is definitely worth the extra step of browning butter into liquid gold.
How to Make Brown Butter
Essentially, browning butter requires only one ingredient – butter. You may use salted or unsalted butter; it is purely a matter of preference. However, if using salted butter, make sure to adjust the quantity of salt used in recipe. To brown butter, simply follow the steps detailed below:
- Step 1 – add butter to a saucepan. I recommend using a light-colored saucepan so that you can see the butter change from a light yellow to a rich golden-brown color.
- Step 2 – melt butter under medium low heat and allow to cook while stirring consistently. Stirring the butter as it cooks is an important step to prevent the milk solids in butter from sticking to the bottom of pan and burning.
- Step 3 – once butter becomes a golden-brown color (about 5-6 minutes), turn off heat and remove from stove. Allow butter to cool to room temperature.
- Step 4 – brown butter may have bits of browned milk solids. Pour brown butter through a fine-mesh sieve to remove browned milk solids before using.
How to Make Brown Butter Pear Skillet Cake
Key Ingredients
- Brown Butter – its rich, nutty flavor pairs so nicely with the sweet pears in cake.
- Pears – I used Barrett pears but any variety of pears would work great in recipe. Also, pears should be ripe but still firm to touch so that it maintains its shape as it bakes.
- Sliced Almonds – provides a lovely crunch which complements the soft texture of cake.
- Brown Sugar – the slight caramel, molasses flavor of brown sugar works so well with the nutty richness of the brown butter.
- Yogurt – I used whole milk plain yogurt which was the key to yielding an incredibly soft-textured cake that maintained it moistness several days later.
To Make Brown Butter Pear Skillet Cake:
- Prepare Pears – peel, half and core pears. Cut off the top narrow part of pears (roughly the first 1″). Thinly slice remaining pear halves from top to bottom. Lightly squeeze some lemon juice over pear slices to prevent browning. Set aside.
- Whisk – add flour, salt, baking powder and soda into a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine. In a separate small mixing bowl, add and whisk together the sugar, brown butter, egg, yogurt and extracts.
- Mix – pour wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix everything together until a smooth batter is reached. Take cake not to overmix batter.
- Spread – spoon brown butter cake batter into an 8” cast iron skillet lined with parchment paper and then spread into an even layer.
- Arrange – place precut pear slices on top of cake batter in your desired pattern and generously sprinkle the top with sliced almonds.
- Bake – brown butter pear cake at 325F for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
- Glaze – with a pastry brush, generously apply warm honey to the top of hot cake.
- Rest – allow cake to rest in pan for at least 10-15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature (about 30-40 minutes). Cut cooled cake into slices and serve.
Helpful Tips
- Brown butter will burn easily so make sure to keep a watchful eye over butter as it cooks.
- Brown butter is ready once it becomes a rich golden-brown color. It will also become more fragrant as well with a nice nutty flavor.
- To remove overly brown milk solids from brown butter, pass cooled but still melted butter through a fine mesh sieve.
- Light squeeze lemon juice on sliced pears to prevent browning.
- Line skillet with parchment paper before adding cake batter. It will make the removed of baked cake more seamless.
- I used a melon scooper to remove the center core of pears. In the absence of a melon scooper, a sharp paring knife maybe used as well.
- In place of a skillet, cake maybe baked in an 8” springform pan or baking pan.
- Brown butter pear cake will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days individually wrapped in plastic wrap and up to 1 month in the freezer.
Brown Butter Pear Skillet Cake
This brown butter pear skillet cake is purely divine with the perfect combination of a moist and flavorful brown butter cake, sweet slices of pears and toasted almonds!
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 55 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 Slices
Ingredients
Brown Butter
• 3 Ounces (6 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter
Brown Butter Pear Skillet Cake
• 1 1/4 Cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Large Egg, Room Temperature
• 2 Barrett Pears, Peeled, Halved, and Cored
• 2/3 Cup Whole Milk Yogurt, Plain, Unsweetened
• 3 Ounces (6 Tablespoons) Brown Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Honey, Warmed
• Juice of 1/4 Fresh Lemon (about 1 1/2 Teaspoons)
• 3/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract
Instructions
Brown Butter
- In a light-colored saucepan, add butter and cook under medium low heat for about 5-6 minutes. Consistently stir melted butter to prevent milk solids from burning before butter is properly browned.
- Once butter has taken on a golden-brown color and becomes fragrant, remove pot from heat. Allow butter to cool to room temperature and pass through a fine mesh sieve to remove overly browned milk solids, if needed.
Brown Butter Pear Skillet Cake
- Preheat oven 325F. Line an 8” skillet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cut off the top narrow part of pears (roughly the first 1″) and save for snacking later (if desired). Thinly slice remaining pear halves from top to bottom taking care to leave slices intact.
- Lightly squeeze lemon juice over pear slices to prevent browning. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add and whisk to combine the flour, salt, baking powder and soda. In a separate small mixing bowl, add and whisk together the sugar, brown butter, egg, yogurt and extracts.
- Pour wet mixture into the dry ingredients. With a wooden/large spoon, mix everything together until a smooth batter is reached. Take cake not to overmix batter.
- Spoon brown butter cake batter into prepared skillet and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Arrange sliced pears on the surface of cake batter in desired pattern and generously sprinkle the top with sliced almonds.
- Bake cake batter at 325F for 50 -55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Rotate pan halfway through bake time for even baking.
- With a pastry brush, generously apply warm honey to the top of hot cake.
- Allow cake to rest in pan for at least 10-15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature (about 30-40 minutes).
- Cut cooled cake into slices and serve as is or with a dollop of yogurt or whipped cream.
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