Pear Cake by the Brother

Sink or swim. That's life. When my brother moved out a few years ago, I was skepitcal. I love you Broseph, you're a strong, competent person- but you never cooked a day in your life. He lived off cereal. I remember when we were high school and our parents went away for a weekend- he walked over with this smirk and asked if I was going to make any food. It was one of those "ha ha- i'm just kidding but no really I'm hungry please save me" tones. My vision of his kitchen was frozen dinners and of course... cereal.

Man was I wrong.

Home boy can cook.

I am impressed. So is Lily!

Eating out got old; cereal got old; frozen food got old; and let's face it- nothing compares to a fresh, home cooked meal. Plus, the satisfaction of knowing you made it yourself. Big brother stepped up to the plate and now I find myself wandering over once a week to steal a plate or two. Oh and ladies, he's single *wink wink*

The brother sticks to real food... turkey burgers, beef stir fry, and crab chowder. The stuff that puts you in a happy food coma. This recipe is a stand out for him because it's the first time I've seen him make anything of the sweet variety. He's the savory chef, I'm the sweet. Well, I may have some family competition.

This lovely Pear Cake is adapted from AllRecipes. The original recipe calls for fresh pears but he used what was readily available- canned pears. He bought the pears in the lightest syrup possible. Do not rinse the pears! It makes them all funky tasting. If you have real pears, simply chop them up and let them sit in the sugar for about an hour- then use them.

This cake is not super sweet, it's very moist, and has nice balance. It's like eating a large, sweetened pear. My favorite part is the nakedness- no frosting on this cake! It's so good, it can stand on its own.

Pear Cake
adapted from allrecipes

4 cups canned pears, in lightest syrup possible, drained
2 cups white sugar
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
4 egg whites
2/3 cup canola oil
1 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 10 inch bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine the pears and the sugar.

Slightly beat the egg whites and combine them with the oil, white chocolate chips, and pear mixture.
Stir the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Stir in the pear mixture. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.