Pear Streusel Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cake pan; line with parchment paper and butter the paper.
• In a skillet, melt butter and honey. Add pears, lemons juice, nutmeg, zest and salt and sauté until the pears are just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool.
• For the topping, whisk together flour, sugars, spices and salt in a bowl. Pour in the melted butter and stir until crumbs form.
• Whisk together sour cream, eggs and vanilla. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add softened butter and beat for 10 seconds to combine. Beat in egg mixture, continuing to beat until very smooth.
• Pour batter into pan and top with the pear slices, spreading them out evenly (if there is liquid in the pan with the pears, don't add it). Use your fingers to squeeze together large crumbs from the topping and scatter evenly on top of pears.
• Bake for 50 to 65 minutes, until the cake is set and the center springs back when very gently pressed with a finger. A cake tester may come out with crumbs attached, but it shouldn't be wet. Transfer cake to a wire rack and cool completely, at least 2 hours before serving. Cake can be made a day ahead.

Steps:

• Make the dough: Warm milk to 110 degrees (or until warm to the touch), sprinkle with yeast, stir and let stand for 5 minutes until dissolved. Add butter and stir until mostly melted.
• Butter or oil a large bowl. In a second large bowl, whisk together sugar, salt and egg yolk. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Add warm milk mixture and stir until combined and dough comes together in a smooth, sticky ball, about 2 minutes. Transfer to prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 2 to 3 hours. (Alternatively, dough can rise in refrigerator overnight.)
• Meanwhile, make the pastry cream: Place a fine-mesh sieve on the rim of a medium bowl. In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, blend cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Whisk in flour, egg, milk, salt, cardamom pods and anise seed. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until mixture starts to thicken, then whisk constantly until it starts to boil. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 2 more minutes, then immediately pour mixture into fine-mesh sieve. Use a spatula to push it through sieve and into bowl. Let cool, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, then stir in butter and vanilla. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of pastry cream and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Make the streusel: In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add butter pieces and toss to coat. Use fingertips to rub butter into dry ingredients until pea-size lumps form. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Roll out dough: Butter two 9-inch pie plates. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and with floured hands gently knead it into a log. Divide log in half and flatten into discs. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll each disc into an 8-inch round. Transfer rounds to pie plates, pressing dough to edges of pan and just slightly up sides. Let rise for about 20 minutes while you prep fruit.
• Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Peel and core pears, then slice them lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and toss to coat.
• Assemble the kuchens: Spread about 1/4 cup pastry cream on bottom of each kuchen, stopping 1/2 inch from edge of dough, then arrange pear slices in an overlapping circular pattern on top. Divide remaining pastry cream between kuchens and carefully spread it evenly over pears. Sprinkle streusel over both and bake in center of oven until dough is light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. (If your oven can't accommodate both kuchens, refrigerate one while the other bakes.) Serve warm or at room temperature. Baked kuchens can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, and frozen up to 1 month. Rewarm before serving.

Steps:

• Make the crust: Roll out dough to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp edges. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the cranberry sauce: Bring cranberries, granulated sugar, water, and cinnamon stick to a simmer in a pot. Cook until cranberries are tender and start to burst and sauce is thick, about 25 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick. Let cool completely.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the streusel: Whisk together flour, brown sugar, oats, ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers until combined and mixture resembles coarse meal with some large pieces remaining. Refrigerate.
• Make the filling: Mix together pears, granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, the flour, and lemon juice. Stir in cooled cranberry sauce.
• Transfer filling to crust; top with streusel. Bake until filling is bubbling in the center and top is golden, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Let cool.