Red Velvet Cake with Buttery Cream Cheese Frosting
Come autumn, I always have a little flirtation with the delicately scented, shapely pear. In the far north state, neither apples nor pears are grown at commercial scale or even on many family farms. Each autumn, we take a fall color drive up to Round Mountain to get apples and fresh apple cider from Troxell’s Big Red Orchard, on highway 299, about 35 miles east of Redding. If you are interested in buying some apples at the end of the pretty drive, do call ahead to Troxell’s, to see what apple varieties are ripe, (530) 337-6699. The orchard being higher in elevation, the apples ripen a bit later, from October to November. We do not always get our favorite variety, Arkansas Black, because they grow on the far edge of the orchards, where the local bears sometimes get them before they get a chance to even get harvested. Those bears know a good apple.
Above, pretty farm photo from the Harry and David website.
So, on to pears. Where pears do grow in abundance is Washington and Oregon. Many of you may have heard of, or perhaps eaten Medford, Oregan pears from long-time growers, Harry and David. Pricewise, they are on the spendier side, but I found they give a 25% discount for AAA members. The pears are packaged so safely for shipping that I reuse the boxes to store delicate china cups. Harry and Davis’s signature pear variety is Royal Riviera®, which is a type of very large comice pear, best eaten out of hand. For cooking and baking, other pears like Bosc hold up better. I like cooking with small pears so each half can be one dessert serving. This fall, I turned to my local supermarket for sweet, little pears.
Above, pear varieties I found at my local supermarket in late September
For most desserts, I want the pears cooked, so baking or poaching works well. Poaching with red liquids such as cranberry juice or red wine, leave the pears delicately tinted, also adding flavor. Traditionally, I’ve spiced my poaching liquid with cinnamon stick, orange peel, star anise, and or vanilla bean, but this year I left out all the spice. I oven poached the pears in a syrup of tawny port, brown and white sugars. After peeling, halving, and coring about six small pears, I preheated an enameled cast iron baking dish until the pan was nice and hot. I threw in about a half a stick of butter and returned it to the oven until the butter was sizzling. I carefully added the pears to the hot butter and pored hot syrup overall. I flipped the pears halfway during baking, but I don’t really think that was necessary, though basting the pears with hot syrup was a good idea.
Above, pears in the Le Creuset enameled cast iron baking dish with some tawny port
Above, pears oven poaching in butter and port syrup.
Three elements of this dessert can be made ahead and assembled the day of serving. The port syrup can be made a few weeks ahead, the pears can be poached a few days ahead and the cake can be baked the day before or frozen, well wrapped, a month ahead. I like to make the frosting the day I am to use it because I think the texture is best when it has not been refrigerated.
Simple Port Syrup
Any leftover syrup is wonderful served over ice cream or yogurt or in a trifle with blackberries or other fall fruit. In a sealed jar, the syrup keeps for at least a month. Feel free to add spice, if desired. A strip of orange peel, a slice of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, star anise, and or a vanilla bean are among the usual additions.
Makes approx. 1 cup
Special equipment: large microwave-safe bowl or medium saucepan, wooden spoon or silicone scraper, glass jar with tightfitting lid
1 cup port or red wine (use cranberry or pomegranate juice for alternative syrup)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- Optional flavorings listed above
- In a large microwave-safe bowl or medium saucepan, mix together all ingredients. Cook until mixture boils, stirring frequently. If using the microwave, stir every 2 minutes until thick and syrupy. If cooking on the stovetop, reduce heat to medium low, simmering until thick and syrupy. Take off heat and cool completely.
- When cool, store in glass jar with tightfitting lid in refrigerator, for up to a month.
Buttery Port Poached Pears
Serves 12-16
Special equipment: metal* roasting pan or large cast iron pan or skillet, large enough to hold the pear halves in one layer, large spoon for basting, cooling rack, large glass baking dish to chill pears
(*Glass baking dish not recommended for high-heat baking)
Serves 12-16
Special equipment: metal* roasting pan or large cast iron pan or skillet, large enough to hold the pear halves in one layer, large spoon for basting, cooling rack, large glass baking dish to chill pears
(*Glass baking dish not recommended for high-heat baking)
Preheat oven to 400°F
6-8 small pears, peeled, halved, and cored
¼ cup (half stick) butter
Port syrup, see recipe above
Cinnamon sugar, optional
- Preheat roasting pan in oven for five minutes. Add butter and bake until butter is sizzling. Watch closely so butter does not burn. Carefully add pear halves in one layer, cut side down. Pour port syrup over pears.
- Bake, basting every 2 or 3 times during baking. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, sprinkling cinnamon sugar over pears during last 10 minutes of baking, if desired.
- Remove from oven and cool on rack until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Transfer pears and syrup into large glass baking dish, cover, and chill until completely cold, or up to 3 days.
- When ready to make the frosting, scoop the hardened butter off the top of the poaching liquid, collecting it into a small bowl. Let the butter come to room temperature before proceeding with frosting.
- Reserve 1-2 tablespoons of port syrup for frosting.
Red Velvet Cake
I have been baking Louise’s friend Irma’s red velvet cake recipe for years, but I was separated from it when I was testing out the poached pear dessert. So, I started googling it and found this one: Red Velvet Cake. I like that it admonished bakers not to leave out the ½ cup of plain hot coffee, an addition that was very tasty. Moving forward, I’m definitely going to use coffee in my red velvet cake. The only changes I made were to omit the 1 teaspoon of vinegar because I used vinegar and whole milk, mixed with a dab of yogurt, in place of buttermilk, and I baked it in a 13” by 9” glass baking dish, where it was originally a 9” layer cake. Be sure to line your pan with parchment paper which has two long sides to act as “handles” when removing the cake from the pan. Cool completely until ready to assemble the dessert. For this dessert, you’ll need one red velvet 13” by 9” cake, chilled.
Port Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Best made the day of use.
Special equipment: mixer bowl and mixer, sieve or sifter, if needed, silicone spatula, pastry bag, and large piping star tip
Have at room temperature:
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- The collected butter from the poached pears liquid, as described above
- 8-ounce package cream cheese
- 1-2 tablespoons of port syrup
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
In mixer bowl, beat together both butters until smooth and well combined. At low speed, beat in cream cheese just until incorporated. Scrape down bowl with silicone spatula. Stir in 1 tablespoon port syrup. Stir in 2 cups of powdered sugar, scrape bowl, then stir in 1 cup of powdered sugar. Continue adding a little syrup and a little more powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Use same day for best texture.
If made ahead, cover and chill. When ready to use, let come to room temperature and briefly beat at low speed until spreadable.
Above, a serving of Poached Pear Red Velvet Cake
To Assemble Individual Poached Pear Red Velvet Cakes:
- Have a large serving platter ready.
- Scrape frosting into a piping bag, fitted with a medium to large star tip. Set aside.
- Lightly arrange the pear halves on top of the cake, about 1/3” apart on all sides. With small, serrated knife, carefully cut around each pear, trying to keep a pear shape,
- Remove pear halves and free each pear-shaped cake, saving the scraps to nibble on later.
- One at a time, pipe frosting decoratively around edge of cake then piping into center. Repeat with each cake.
- Nestle each pear half on frosted cake. Arrange on serving platter, serve immediately or store at cool room temperature, serve within two hours. If chilled, bring to room temperature to serve. The frosting tastes best if not cold.
If there is extra syrup, pour a little pool of syrup on each cake plate, then place cake in syrup.
Variation: To make one large cake, leave cake in pan, frost entire cake, and place pear halves so each serving gets a pear.
Above, for our autumn pear enjoyment, here is Paul Cezanne’s Still Life with Peaches and Pears,” 1895
