Pears and Cardamom

I’ve had a mini-obsession with the combination of pears and cardamom since trying a cardamom-pear scone at a local coffee shop something like a year ago. That generous dose of cardamom was fresher and spicier than any taste of the stuff I’d had before, and I knew I had to have more. Earlier this month, I made a sweet bread laced with cardamom, and I decided that would be a great foundation for a dish featuring the ubiquitous winter pear.

French toast was going to be the way to go and I wanted to add sautéed pears to it. I didn’t just want a sauce and I certainly didn’t want to perform the delicate operation of cutting into a thick slice of bread in order to stuff it with something gooey, especially first thing in the morning. Instead, I made a sort of French toast casserole, which, to the discerning eye, will look suspiciously like bread pudding. I assembled the whole thing the night before I wanted to bake it, then could just bake it in the morning, which is hardly a delicate operation at all, even for a non-morning person like me.

I sautéed the pears in brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and a little lemon juice, then layered them between thick slices of my cardamom bread. You certainly use other breads to make this, but I think a soft, rich bread, such as Challah or Brioche, would be nice. For the custard, I consulted several recipes and even Ratio by Michael Ruhlman, and think I came up with a decent proportion of eggs to milk. The resulting dish is quite moist and not too eggy, a little sweet, but not cloying. And the cardamom-pear combo? Still a dynamic duo if you ask me. And this milieu is another good place for them to shine together. If I make this again, I might try adding even more pears.

I made a small-ish batch of this dish, since I wasn’t going to be feeding a crowd, but I think it could be doubled and baked in a larger baking dish (say 13” x 9”). It’s a great way to make a weekend brunch ahead of time, and the leftovers are pretty good reheated in the microwave a day or two later. If you don’t want to do pears, apples would probably work as well, but would probably need to be sautéed longer to make them tender. Other fruits might also be good when they are in season. If you hate cardamom, leave it out and double the cinnamon, or try a little nutmeg. If you hate bread, you’re going to have to eat something else for breakfast.

French Toast Casserole with Cardamom and Pears
This dish is not overly-sweet, so you can serve it with maple syrup if desired (I did).

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
3 medium-sized pears, peeled and sliced about ¼ -inch thick
4 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
½ teaspoon cinnamon, divided
½ teaspoon cardamom, preferably freshly ground, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice

10-12 ounces rich, slightly sweet, day-old (or slightly older) bread, such as Finnish Cardamom Bread, challah or brioche, thickly sliced (or enough for two layers of your baking dish)

3 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk (I used low-fat. Full-fat is probably even better.)
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add the pears and two tablespoons brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pears are tender and the liquid around them is thickened. Add ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, and lemon juice. Cook and gently stir until the liquid is thick. Remove from the heat and cool.

2. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish (or coat it with cooking spray). Place half of the bread on the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping slightly if necessary. Arrange half of the pear mixture on top of the bread. Layer the remaining bread on top of the pears.

3. In a medium-size bowl, beat together the eggs and milk with a whisk. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, remaining ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, remaining ¼ teaspoon cardamom and vanilla and beat until combined.

4. Pour the egg mixture over the mixture in the pan. Press down slightly on the top layer of bread. Arrange the remaining pear mixture on top of the bread. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours).

5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake, covered, at 350 F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes more, or until the custard is set. It should be moist but no longer runny. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

Makes 4-6 servings. Refrigerate leftovers for a day or two and reheat in the microwave.

Other recipes like this one: Apple Cinnamon Pancakes, Triple Ginger Peach Shortcakes, Apple Turnovers with Dried Fruit

One year ago: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Finnish Biscuit

I’ve recently become a raging fan of cardamom.  I loved it in my iced chai lattes (from Panera) where it lent an exotic floral aura to the other sweet and spicy flavors, and so I put it in things like curry spice mixes, spiced ice cream, and Mulled Apple Cider. It wasn’t until I had the absolutely fabulous cardamom-pear scone at Blue Heron (a local coffee house, and so much more) that I began to appreciate its peppery nature in addition to its floral qualities (and its affinity for pears.)

Not only is cardamom a staple spice in eastern cuisines, but it also seems to be quite popular in Scandinavian and Finnish baking.  While the whole cardamom pods are fine for steeping, and I’ve even been known to grind up whole pods as part of a spice mix, it’s the dark little jewels inside the pods that are prized for baked goods.  Recently, I cracked open all of my remaining cardamom pods, a bit of a labor of love, and ground the seeds into a coarse powder for use in baking.  This is approximately what you get if you purchase a jar or box of ground cardamom, but it is oh so much better - spicier, more aromatic, more peppery, fresher - if you can grind whole seeds.

And so I set out to use my freshly ground cardamom before it lost its flavor, and I decided to finally try to make a rich, slightly sweet, Finnish-style cardamom bread.  My mom grew up in a tiny town in northern Michigan that was largely populated by Finnish and Finnish-American folks (although her family is not Finnish).  There, and in other places in the northern U.S. with significant Finnish populations, this bread is known as “biscuit.”  I’ve also heard it referred to as “coffee bread.” Purists will call it pulla, its Finnish name, and, according to Beatrice Ojakangas in her Great Holiday Baking Book (this book appears to be out of print), it might be called nisu, which comes from the Finnish word for wheat. Pulla differs from “everyday” bread by being made with wheat flour, which was traditionally harder to come by and therefore worthy of celebration foods.

This bread definitely qualifies as celebration food, but, after making it once, I’d like it to become more “everyday” around here.  On its own, the dough is rich, sort of like challah, and a little sweet, but the cardamom makes it truly special.  There’s plenty of it in the mix and its flavor is not the least bit elusive.  It’s there, bold and unashamed, but working well with the sweetened richness of the bread, which is soft and fluffy in texture.  If you’re accustomed to lean or whole grain breads, this bread might just seem like a decadent dessert.  It’s just fabulous on its own alongside a cup of coffee or espresso or tea, lasts well when wrapped or covered, toasts nicely while still staying quite soft, and is not too darn shabby spread with a bit of jam or jelly.  I’m sure it would make a luxurious French toast.  I’ll have to try that next.

I made a big, fat, fluffy braided loaf (a little over 2 pounds or about 1 kilogram) with this recipe, which is lovely, but a bit difficult to store. I ended up wrapping it in plastic wrap and sealing it in my cake carrier.  You could probably make it into two smaller braided loaves with skinnier dough ropes, which is what I may do next time, or whatever shape suits your fancy.  Until then, I’m taking down this giant loaf by myself, proving that you don’t have to be the least bit Finnish, or even care whether it’s called biscuit, coffee bread, or pulla, to really enjoy a slice or two (or ten) of Finnish-style cardamom bread.

Finnish Cardamom Bread

Based on various recipes, including those from The Minnesota Ethnic Food Book by Anne R. Kaplan, Marjorie A. Hoover, and Willard B. Moore, and Beatrice Ojakangas’ Great Holiday Baking Book

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope-style package)
¼ cup warm water (about 100-110 F)
½ cup sugar, divided
1 cup milk
¼ cup (½ stick) butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups bread flour, divided
1 teaspoon ground cardamom seed (preferably freshly ground)
1 teaspoon fine salt
egg wash (egg beaten with a little milk or water), optional

1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, water and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Let stand 5 minutes or until foamy.

2. Meanwhile, add the butter and milk to a small saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat until the butter has almost completely melted, stirring occasionally to keep the milk from scorching on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and aside.

3. Add the eggs, 2 cups flour, remaining sugar and the milk mixture to the yeast mixture in the bowl. Stir to combine well. Cover with a towel and let stand about 15 minutes. This will make a mini-starter that I find improves the flavor and yeast performance in most breads.

4. Stir in 1 cup flour, cardamom and salt. Flour a kneading surface with some of the remaining flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and knead, adding as much of the remaining flour as needed to make a smooth, elastic dough that does not stick to your hands or the surface. (You may not need all of the flour.) This will take about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you could knead the dough with the dough hook on a heavy-duty mixer at low to medium-low speed, for about 10 minutes).

 
5. Form the dough into a smooth ball.  Grease a clean, large bowl or spray it with cooking spray.  Place the dough ball in the bowl and grease or spray its top.  Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the dough and cover the bowl with a towel.  Let stand about 1 hour. It should roughly double in size.

6. Gently punch down the dough and form it into a new ball.  Cover with the towel and let it stand 5 minutes.  Cut the dough into 3 equal portions (I used a scale to measure them).  Roll each portion into a ball.  Roll each ball into a rope about 12 inches long.  Braid the ropes together, pinching the ends together to seal them. (Alternatively, you could cut the dough into 6 portions, create skinnier ropes and braid three together to make smaller loaves, or form the dough into whatever shape you like.)

7. Transfer the shaped dough to a greased or lined baking sheet. Cover with the towel and let stand about 1 hour, or until roughly double in size.

8. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Brush the risen loaf with egg wash if desired. Bake at 375 F 30-35 minutes or until the crust is dark brown and the bread passes your favorite test for doneness (such as an interior of 200 F). Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes one large (2 ¼ pounds or 1 kilogram) loaf (or two smaller loaves if desired.)

Other recipes like this one: Baguette, Chocolate Orange Bread, Walnut Buttermilk Bread

One year ago: Potato and Celeriac Casserole with Baked Eggs