Pear and Cognac Cake

Celebrating the season with this warm cozy cake we love to enjoy directly from the skillet. I call it a spoonable cake, because its rustic and looks charming baked in a skillet. I like to bring it out warm to the table and everyone spoons a slice. We like it with a little cream and maybe a shot of whiskey for extra warmth. The alcohol is totally optional, but just remember the alcohol burns off with the hour of baking, so all thats left is the deep whiskey flavor.

Pear and Cognac Cake, 8-10 slices

Ingredients

• 1 cup Einkorn all-purpose flour, sifted or regular a.p flour
• 3-4 medium Bosc pears
• 1 leveled teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup honey or maple syrup or sugar( Add 1 tablespoon more of pears are not sweet)
• ¼ cup Cognac or Calvados or Whiskey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup plain yogurt, at room temperature
• ½ cup e.v olive oil plus more for greasing the pan
• ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts, optional 
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Roughly nestle a piece of parchment paper into an 8- 9 inch cast-iron skillet or cake pan, grease it with olive oil.
2. In a large bowl, whisk mix the sifted flour, salt and baking powder.
3. In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Whisk in the honey or sugar, olive oil, Cognac or (other alcohol you choose to use), vanilla extract, yogurt, and whisk to combine to a smooth batter.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients gently.v Do not over work the batter.
5. Peel, core and deseed two of the pears, chop them into ½-inch-thick cubes. Thinly slice the remaining pears, unpeeled, and cut into ¼-inch slices, to top the cake.
6. Gently fold in the chopped pears. Transfer the batter to the pan and neatly arrange the pear slices and sprinkle the hazelnuts if using.
7. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until the cake turns golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.Transfer the skillet to a cooling rack and let it sit for 5 minutes.
8. The cake is best served warm or at room temperature spooned directly from the skillet. Dust it with confectioners sugar before serving.