Gingered pear and raspberry pandowdy

Despite loving their first film collaboration, I’m not a fan of Burton or Depp (both together and separate). Burton’s just not the kind of director I admire, and I find Depp very limited as an actor – playing the weird doesn’t necessarily mean one is talented. To make things even worse, they butchered one of the most important movies of my childhood. Having said that, you must know that I loved "Dark Shadows" – I laughed so much I felt renovated after leaving the theater. I do not know if that was because after the awful “Alice in Wonderland” I had no expectations about Burton’s new movie but I thought the script was very witty and funny and that Depp was absolutely fantastic as Barnabas – his performance goes far beyond all that make up and one can tell he’s having a lot of fun playing the vampire. Eva Green, whom I would never have imagined had such great comedy timing, is magnificent, too. The only thing I did not like much in “Dark Shadows” was Chloe Moretz – she’s only 15 and tried too hard to be a femme fatale, all those languid looks and cascading hair and the pouting... Not good. Yet, the movie is worth watching – laughing that much on a Monday was certainly a good way to start off the week. :D

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Crumbles are my favorite dessert and because of that all the variations of warm desserts involving fruit get my instant attention: after the apple pandowdy, it was about time I tried a different spin on that delicious dessert – the pears and raspberries were wonderful together and the biscuit topping, with lovely ginger kicks here and there, complimented the fruit beautifully.

Gingered pear and raspberry pandowdy
from the fabulous Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More

Fruit filling:
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
pinch of salt
4 large pears, peeled, cored, and sliced (1kg/2 pounds prepped)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
250g (2 cups/ 9oz) raspberries, fresh or frozen – I used frozen, unthawed
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Biscuit topping:
1 ¾ cups (245g) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon extra, for sprinkling
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (140g/5oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup chopped candied ginger
2/3 cup (160ml) cold buttermilk + 1 tablespoon extra, for brushing*

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Butter a 22cm (9in) cast-iron skillet or deep-dish pie pan.
Make the filling: rub the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a large bowl, then add the pears and lemon juice and toss until evenly coated. Gently fold in the raspberries, then transfer the fruit to the prepared pan. Dot the fruit with the butter.

Biscuit: whisk the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
Add the butter and toss until evenly coated. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the size of large peas. Stir in the candied ginger, then pour in the 2⁄3 cup buttermilk and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened (my dough was too soft, so I added 1 tablespoon flour).
The dough will be crumbly, with large pieces of butter still visible. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently press the dough together, then press it into a 22cm (9in) circle.
Carefully place the dough atop the fruit. Brush the dough with the 1 tablespoon buttermilk, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bake in the lower third of the oven for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180°C/350°F and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the juices are bubbly and thick.
Allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Serves 8