Headed to Cali
Hello, everyone! I come to you, today, with an exciting recipe and life update! When it comes to food, I like to save the best for last. So, before we get into this Chai Pear Crisp, let me update you on my life.
Right now, I’m on my spring break. I know. It’s not even spring, but my school runs on a trimester system. So here I am on my spring break in the middle of winter. My spring trimester will officially be my last trimester of school before I graduate from college. And for my spring trimester, I’m going on an internship in California. As some of you may know, my sister lives in LA, so I’ll be staying with her while I’m on my internship. Let’s pray that we’ll both still consider each other sisters by the end of the May.
Finding My Path
One reason why I’m so excited for this internship is because I’ll be working in the food media field. In the past, I thought the only path for a culinary student was to work in a restaurant. My school doesn’t really promote other job opportunities in this field besides becoming a chef. Because of this, I felt like I had no career options and was destined to a job that I wan’t sure I wanted.
I’ve worked in multiple restaurants in the past, and they have all taught me so much. Without those jobs, I wouldn’t have the culinary experience I have today. Honestly speaking, for me, working at restaurants never felt right. I worked in them because I wanted to gain experience and felt that it was something I had to do, which it was. However, I never left feeling like “this is what I was meant to do.”
A Blast to the Past
A few weeks ago, a forgotten memory of mine resurfaced: I always wondered how people made recipes. As an inexperienced and new home cook, it was fascinating to think that people just knew the exact amount of an ingredient to add into a recipe. I used to watch this woman on YouTube bake and decorate cakes for her bakery. One day, I sent an email to her basically asking how she developed her recipes and knew how much of each ingredient to use.
It’s crazy to think I was actually interested in recipe development when I first started cooking, but it was all masked by this idea that I had to become a chef. The only reason I remembered this was because I started developing recipes and was thinking back to how this came to be. Honest to god, I didn’t even remember that I once had thoughts about recipe development before now. So when I remembered, it felt like I had come full circle. If didn’t start pursuing this interest, I may have never sparked that memory. Being where I am now with my blog and then having that memory suddenly triggered in my brain gave me that “this is what I was meant to do” feeling.
Exciting Times Are Ahead
Working in food media is what I’m passionate about right now and a field that feel right. I’ve never had that feeling with any of my past jobs, which is why I’m so freaking excited about this internship! Again, in the past, I worked certain jobs because I felt like I had to, but now, I feel like I’m working for this internship because I want to. It feels like I’m finally pursuing a career that I could see being my future.
Besides being super pumped for my internship, I am also excited to head to California and stay with my sister. When I’m at school, I definitely fall into a slump. No offense, but Rhode Island is not my type of state, so it’ll be refreshing to be out of there and to have a new routine. I have tentative plans to move to LA after graduating, so these 3 months will act as a test run. With all of these changes, I really hope to post more on instagram and share more of my life with you all. At school, I just fell into a boring routine, so I didn’t think there was a lot to show. I definitely want to interact with everyone more, so fingers crossed that this change will be the catalyst!
Onto the Crisp
Now that you know what’s going on in my life, let’s get to the food!
If you’ve read my Apple Chutney post, you would know that I don’t usually like cooked apples, and the same goes for pears. However, as time goes on, I find that I don’t seem to mind it as much anymore.
This Chai Pear Crisp is easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious! The pears are tossed together with a chai spice blend, lemon zest and juice, brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and cornstarch. You get the warm spice flavor from the chai spice blend; the lemon zest and juice compliment the spices but also cut the sweetness; the brown sugar caramelizes the pears, and the cornstarch helps to thicken all of the juices that are released to create a syrupy sauce!
Fun fact: I’m a crumble and streusel gal. If I could add a crumble or streusel topping to every baked item, I would. With that said, I like to load up on my crumble topping for this Chai Pear Crisp. For the topping, we have some of the chai spice blend, butter, flour, oats, brown sugar, and chopped walnuts. The brown sugar provides caramelization and sweetness, and the oats and walnuts help to add texture. You have to rub the butter into the dry ingredients to create those good ole’ chunky clumps of crumble.
Ice Cream Makes Everything Better
When everything comes together and is warm from coming right out of the oven, it tastes like heaven! And let’s not forget that you must top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you don’t plan on doing so, don’t even make the recipe. This Chai Pear Crisp topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is a whole experience. So do not forget the ice cream! You have the warm, spiced, syrupy pears, and that nutty oat crumble for texture. Then add in the chilled contrast of the creamy ice cream that brings the crisp to life. Yeah. You need this in your life.
The best part about this Chai Pear Crisp is that you can freeze it in ramekins! Listen, you never know when the urge for an indulgent dessert will hit. When you realize you have leftover Chai Pear Crisp in your freezer, ready to be baked, you’ll flip your sh*t — in the best way possible
I hope you all try this recipe out and love it as much as I do. Let me know what ya’ll think, and I’ll catch you in my next post!
Chai Pear Crisp
Ingredients
For the Chai Spice Blend
- 1 1/2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp Ground Cardamom
- 1 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Ground Allspice
For the Topping
- 6 tbsp Cold Unsalted Butter (small dice)
- 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts
- 1/3 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Chai Spice Blend
- 3/4 tsp Kosher Salt
For the Pear Filling
- 5 D'Anjou or Bartlett Pears (small dice)
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- Zest from 1 Lemon
- 3 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- Remaining Chai Spice Blend
- As Needed Vanilla Ice Cream (for serving)
Instructions
For the Chai Spice Blend
- In a small bowl, mix all of the spices together until they are evenly blended. Set aside for later.
For the Topping
- In a medium sized bowl, add in all of the ingredients besides the butter. Mix the ingredients together until they are evenly distributed. Add in the cold butter, and begin rubbing it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips. Incorporate the butter until it begins to form pea sized clumps. Set the bowl aside in the fridge to keep the topping cold while you prepare the pear filling.
For the Pear Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
- Add all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix until everything is well incorporated.
- Coat the inside of the ramekins with butter or nonstick spray. Fill the ramekins 3/4 of the way. Top the pears with a layer of the crisp topping.
- Place the ramekins on a sheet tray and into the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes until the topping has turned golden brown and the pears are cooked. Remove the tray from the oven and allow the crisps to cool for a few minutes before serving. Top with ice cream and enjoy!
