Have you ever tasted an ingredient that made your taste buds fall instantly in love? Cardamom is my instant love ingredient and it couldn’t pair more beautifully than in this Pear and Cardamom Crisp.
I know, I often associate emotions with ingredients. It can’t be helped. So I will regale you with yet another tale of my childhood. (can you see me smiling?)
It started when I was little and I could smell Grandpa’s coffee brewing in the wee hours of the morning. Grandpa got up before the sun and always spent a quiet hour sipping his coffee while deep in thought and ponder. I’d call this his meditation hour but I don’t think my grandfather knew what meditation was. For him, it was beautiful silence.
When I heard him sit in his favorite chair at the formica kitchen table, I’d sneak out of the guest room and walk down the long hall that led to the kitchen. I was instantly greeted with a wide and toothy grandpa grin. He’d ask me if I’d like to join him for a cup of joe, that it would make me tough and I’d grow up faster. Then he’d laugh and smile again. He was a crusty old soul, but always a sweet pile of marshmallows with his grandchildren.
Scent, taste, touch and often sight, all play a large roll in how we perceive food and if it feels worthy of our taste buds. This Pear and Cardamom Crisp meet all those requirements and can be visually enticing. Which is perfect when you’re serving this for a dinner party.
The soft, silky texture of baked pear and the floral citrus scent of cardamom makes this Pear and Cardamom Crisp perfect for any occasion.
I thought I’d dress it up even more and top it with a Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream. Because who doesn’t love whipped cream?
I do love a large baking dish of fruit crisp, often making gift size dishes to give to friends and neighbors. For a festive celebration or dinner party, this Pear and Cardamom Crisp is gorgeous in individual ramekins and then topped with edible flowers or even a few lavender buds or sprinkle of vanilla sugar.
Although it’s a simple preparation, this is a beautiful and delightful dessert. Sweet, yet fragrantly spiced – and it would work well for a brunch or a holiday dessert. Sometimes I make a large baking dish of Pear and Cardamom Crisp on the weekend and then my family nibbles on it throughout the week. Occasionally having a scoop for breakfast ( I see the fork marks in the pan but no one admits to it) and always a little dish at night after dinner. A special seasonal treat that always makes my family smile (and apparently sneaky).
Delicious Wishes and Loads of Love,
Karista
Pear and Cardamom Crisp
Notes
I originally created this recipe for the lovely folks over at Home By Design Magazine.
Ingredients
- 3 – 3 ½ lbs ripe pears, cored and sliced
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (or 1/2 cup brown sugar if pears aren't quite ripe)
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing the baking dish/dishes
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise and seeds scraped out
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F
- Grease one 8” or 9” baking dish with butter or 6 – 8 oven safe ramekins. If using ramekins or small oven proof dishes, place them on a baking sheet.
- Mix together the 1/4 cup brown sugar with 1 teaspoon cardamom. Toss the cardamom sugar with the sliced pears. Place the sliced pears in the baking dish or divide among ramekins.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the rolled oats, flour, dark brown sugar, one teaspoon cardamom and pinch of salt. Then mix in the butter. I like to mix this with my hands to make a well infused buttery crumble. You should end up with pea sized crumbles.
- Spread the crumble mixture over the pears. Place the baking dish or baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the pears are bubbly on the sides and crisp topping is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let them rest while you make the Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream.
- In a kitchen aid mixer or with a hand held mixer, whisk together the whipping cream, vanilla bean seeds and powdered sugar until thick and fluffy.
- Once the crisp has cooled slightly, serve the crisp with the Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream.
Wonderful flavor pairing.
Thank you Rosemary! It almost tastes festive 🙂
This sounds amazing – I also LOVE cardamom. P.S. The new site design is beautiful 🙂
Thanks Alyssa! I’m just a little obsessed with cardamom. 😉
The ingredients list says 1/4 c brown sugar and then in directions it says “the 3 tablespoons sugar”. I went with the lesser amount. It mentions one teaspoon of the cardamom in the instructions yet the ingredients list says two teaspoons. Where should the second one go? I put it into the oats crumble mixture.
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Teresa, Thank you for this comment! On occasion, I fail to write the recipe so it’s easily understood or I forget something. So thank you for bringing it to my attention. You did everything correctly. Three tablespoons brown sugar is about 1/4 cup so that will be fine. I just made the corrections in the recipe. As well, the second teaspoon of cardamom does go into the oat mixture. You’re an awesome home chef! I apologize for the confusion! This is what happens when I write recipes every day. Sometimes I miss something but hopefully most of the time I get it right. I hope you love the crisp! Delicious Wishes, Karista