Flaugnarde with Pears
from https://www.foodandwine.com/

Food & Wine published the recipe for this not-too-sweet fruit pancake to celebrate the publication of the 2005 edition of Paula Wolfert's 1983 classic, The Cooking of Southwest France. Flaugnarde (flow-NYARD) is a sibling of the more familiar, baked fruit dessert called Clafoutis. It's just as good for brunch as it is for dessert, served puffed and hot, right out of the oven.

Think of a flaugnarde as a warm, baked fruit custard (uses a higher proportion of eggs), similar to a Dutch Baby, except a Dutch Baby is more like giant, crispy, popover-style pancake and not as custardly.

Note: The batter needs to sit at room temperature for 3 hours before baking.

"It's our best dessert," says Albert Parveaux, proprietor of the Chateau de Castel Novel. He is speaking of the flaugnarde of Corrèze, a superb soufflé-like fruit cake, similar to a German apple pancake. "But," he adds, "its simplicity is misunderstood by some of our guests, who think complexity is the same thing as excellence."

He explained the secrets of a successful flaugnarde: "First, never put sugar into it the way they do in the Périgord, because it won't rise on account of the extra weight. Second, be sure to use a metal dish, since metal heats up quicker and thus will give the batter a better rise. Third, only fill the pan to one third of its height‑the flaugnarde will thus have room to rise, and it will in fact fill the pan when baked.

You must eat this dessert while hot, though it will hold its rise as long as 10 minutes. When serving, slip it out of its pan onto a serving plate; then dust heavily with granulated sugar. [recipe says 1 1/2 tablespoons and I thought it plenty.]

FMM: This turned out really good and does look very much like the picture. I used regular sugar and added around 1 extra tablespoon sugar to the batter as it didn't look like much and most other recipes use more. It was just about perfect. It is not too sweet and the pears bring a lot of their own sweetness to the flaugnarde. Note: pears will be a little hard when ripe. They should have a little give near the neck. You do not want to use really ripe pears for this. I do not peel the pears for this. The peels are nutritious and add flavor and texture. They are a great source of fiber and contain antioxidants.

Batter:
3 large eggs
3/4 cup cake flour (can use regular flour but replace 1 1/2 Tbsp. with cornstarch)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 1/2 [use 2 1/2] tablespoons superfine sugar*

2 1/2 Tbsp of unsalted butter, divided
2 ripe medium Bartlett pears— peeled, cored and thinly sliced (no need to peel)
1 1/2 tablespoons superfine sugar, to finish

*Superfine sugar is white sugar with very small grains. Granulated sugar can be used in place of superfine sugar; if possible, blitz in a food processor to make it more finely ground.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cake and all-purpose flours, salt and 1/4 cup of the milk until smooth. Whisk in the remaining 3/4 cup of milk, the rum and 1 1/2 [use 2 1/2] tablespoons of the sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450° and coat a deep 9-inch cake pan with half of the butter. Pour the batter into the pan and arrange the pear slices on top. Dot with the remaining butter and bake in the lower third of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400° and bake for 30 minutes longer, or until the flaugnarde is puffed and deeply golden.

[Use these temperatures and times to make sure it is thoroughly baked through.]

Let cool for 2 minutes, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and serve.

Serves 6 to 8