Elegant, beautiful, delicious! And sooooo easy!!! The custard whirrs up in the blender and the entire confection comes together quickly and effortlessly. There are several versions of this around but it seems to have originated with Martha Stewart. Other versions add cinnamon, nutmeg, less egg, additional egg yolks, cardamom, heavy cream, a pie crust (😳?), confectioners sugar on top. Not necessary. Most every version includes peeling the pears which I have never found to be necessary or desirable. For me the rustic simplicity of the included peel is integral to its charm. But suit yourself. Some versions simply toss the pear slices into the dish. Others arrange them artfully overlapping each other like flower petals, a challenge worth practicing.
Onward to the recipe:
Preheat oven to 350° and butter a 9” pie dish.
Choose 3-4 Bartlett, Comice or other thin skinned pears, ripe but not overly ripe.
Cut in half, scoop out the core (I use a melon baller) and slice into 1/4“ half moons.
Arrange in an overlapping pattern in the dish.
In a blender, process until smooth (but don’t over process):
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pour custard over pears.
Bake for 40-45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yes, it’s that easy. It’s perfect as is, but a special occasion dessert would likely find it accompanied by a scoop of excellent vanilla ice cream.