Almond Poached Pear Brioche Cake with Red Wine Caramel

Almond Poached Pear Brioche Cake

Buttery brioche topped with wine spice poached pears and the most decadent red wine caramel sauce!

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

For the brioche:

For the red wine caramel:

For the topping:

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add dry ingredients and
butter to a food processor. Pulse until dough becomes sandy with pea-size pieces of
butter. Add eggs, one at a time, pulsing to incorporate after each addition. Add milk with
last egg and pulse until dough forms and everything is evenly combined.
Prepare a 10-inch spring-form pan by lightly spraying with a baking spray containing
flour. Place a parchment circle on the bottom of the prepared pan. Scrape dough into
prepared pan. Spray hands with baking spray as dough will be very sticky. Gently press
into the bottom. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise at warm room temperature
for 2 hours until puffy but no necessarily doubled in size.
While dough rises, whisk together wine, sugar, cinnamon and cloves in a medium sauce
pan. Place pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking until sugar has
dissolved. Add pears, reduce to a simmer and cook until pears just until fork tender, 6-8
minutes. Remove pears with a slotted spoon. Set aside to cool.
Return wine mixture to a low boil and reduce until very thick and syrupy. Remove from
heat and set aside for serving.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Top risen brioche with cooled poached pears and sprinkle
edge with sliced almonds.
Bake in preheated oven 45-55 minutes until dark, golden brown. Remove from oven.
Remove sides from pan and cool on a wire rack. Slice into wedges and serve drizzled
with red wine caramel.
Recipe by Kate Donahue