This pancake recipe dates back to Jean-Georges’s apprenticeship in Alsace. For me, the warm flavor of semolina combines well with the double whammy of pear in this dessert. Cumin brings out the rustic edge of all the ingredients. (See the photograph pages 92–93.)

　　

Ingredients

serves 10

　　

For the Pancakes

3 tablespoons (45g) heavy cream

　　Scant 2/3 cup (145g) whole milk

　　1 1/2 tablespoons (18g) sugar

　　1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (60g) semolina flour

　　5 tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

　　3 large eggs, separated

　　Cream of tartar

　　

To Serve

1 or 2 Poached Pears (page 247)

　　Pear-Cumin Granité (page 241)

　　

For the Pancakes

Step 1

Put the cream, milk, and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk in the semolina and add the butter. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Scrape into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 10 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Put the egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat at medium-low speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the whites form soft peaks. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the whites form medium peaks.

　　

Step 3

Whisk the egg yolks into the semolina batter. Fold in one-quarter of the whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites, gently but thoroughly. You can make the batter about 1 hour ahead of cooking. Store it, covered, in the refrigerator.

　　

Step 4

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat. When the griddle is hot, brush it with butter. If desired, place a few buttered 2 1/4-inch tart rings on the griddle, so you can make perfectly round pancakes. Fill each ring with batter and cook until the bottom is browned, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancake, ring and all, and cook until the second side is browned, another 2 minutes. Serve these immediately.

　　

To Serve

Step 5

Cut the pears into perfect tiny dice.

　　

Step 6

Put a pancake on a plate with a pile of diced pears, a drizzle of the poaching liquid, and a small bowl of the granité.

　　

make it simpler

Step 7

Rather than poaching the pears, you could dice a super-ripe pear and serve that instead.

　　Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__