Denver caterer Pat O’Connor won a national contest with his grandmother’s pear cake recipe, which will appear with 49 others in a cookbook sponsored by Thermador ovens to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its built-in wall oven.
O’Connor, his mother and brother run Le Petit Gourmet Catering. He calls his liqueur-spiked cake a “showcase for Colorado pears.”
Chef Bradley Ogden, winner of the James Beard Foundation 2004 “Best New Restaurant” award for his self-named restaurant at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, led a panel of experts in judging the recipes and selecting one winner per state.
“Pat’s Western Slope Pear & Ginger Cake was chosen for utilizing the scrumptious pears from Colorado’s Grand Junction area – a regional favorite – and pear liqueur for an exciting twist,” said Ogden in a release.
The book, “Taste of America,” features color photos of each recipe and is available on thermador.com.
The Denver Thermador showroom is located at 11220 E. 53rd Ave.
Western Slope Pear & Ginger Cake
Pat O’Connor won a Thermador oven contest with his grandmother’s recipe. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
Cake:
Topping:
Directions
For cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9- inch-diameter pie dish. Combine flour, ground ginger, and salt in small bowl. Using an electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar and fresh ginger in a medium bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in milk and pear liqueur. Beat in flour mixture. Spread batter in prepared dish.
For topping: Peel and core pears. Cut into quarters, then cut quarters into slices. Arrange pear slices in a spoke pattern on batter. Brush pears with melted butter.
Mix brown sugar and ginger in a small bowl. Sprinkle over pears.
Bake cake until browned and tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.
