Learn how to make a single serving cobbler in your air fryer using Asian pears. How do they compare to using apples?
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I was looking around on Pinterest the other day for what types of recipes were trending. And one of the things I saw was Asian pear recipes. It hit me that I didn't have any Asian pear recipes and in fact I have never done anything with them besides just eat them and share them with my Asian pear loving daughter.
That is about to change. I thought the simplest thing to start with is an Asian pear cobbler along the lines of what I make with apples or white peaches.
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Why Make This Recipe?
Ease. I wanted to try out baking with Asian pears and this recipe was the fastest way to get results. So it makes a fast way for you to get a dessert on the table. And as I found out it tasted amazing. The pears develop a beautiful flavor when cooked, just like I have seen so many times with apples.
I love using my air fryer to make these small sized desserts. I don't have to preheat anything and the air fryer doesn't use up that much energy or make your kitchen hot. Plus it's a lot easier for my kids to try doing themselves if they want. It's really a win-win all the way around.
I also don't want to make a big dessert using Asian pears. They aren't cheap most of the time. So getting a whole bunch of Asian pears for a recipe can cost a lot, especially if you aren't sure you are going to like it or not.
Ingredients
The grocery shopping list is small with this one - 5 things on it, plus spices if you want to add them. I really like the fruit to shine in this recipes, so I don't fancy it up too much. I really wanted to taste the flavor of the Asian pear on it's own.
Here is what you will need.
- 1 Asian pear
- the juice of 1 small lemon
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅛ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ground cinnamon or other spice to taste (optional)
Note I called for dark brown sugar. I like it's more bold flavor but you could use the same amount of light brown sugar with no trouble or adjusting.
The really super large Asian pears might be too much for this recipe. It's about how much fruit can fit into your baking dish. My choice is a 4-inch small cake pan. I don't need an entire jumbo Asian pear for it but the one I used that I got out of a bag of smaller fruit was enough.
I own 2 small cake pans which means I can fit one in each drawer of my my dual basket Ninji air fryer, making it easy for me to double the recipe.
Since Asian pears are pretty sweet, I felt the cobbler needed a bit more acidity in order to balance it out. For that I turned to the juice of a single small lemon. You only need half of it. Smaller lemons are what you normally find in bags at the grocery store. If you buy a lemon on it's own, it's usually bigger. If that is what you have then I would only use a quarter of the lemon. If you wanted a stronger lemon flavor or more acidic you could use more but I found the amount I used add acidic without adding much lemon flavor, so not to overwhelm the pear flavor.
If you want some spices, the ones I think pair well with Asian pears include: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or ginger. If you are going to use nutmeg, get whole nutmeg and grate it yourself. It will be a hundred times better that way.
Learn more about How to Tell When an Asian Pear is Perfectly Ripe.
Instructions
To begin you need to combine the flour, brown sugar, and butter to make your cobbler topping. Mix together the flour and brown sugar and then you are going to rub the butter into the flour/sugar mixture. You want the butter to be hard when you are doing this so that your finger don't just melt it.
You will continue to rub the butter in until you can't see individual cubes of butter yet and when you grab a bunch of the topping it clumps up. The clumps don't have to be even. In fact I like the rustic look of a cobbler that doesn't look perfectly even.
Could you also do this using your food processor. You most certainly could. But I don't feel like it's necessary. Plus I believe it's more work to clean your food processor than it would have been to do it by hand. You have to clean all those pieces of the food processor when you could just wash your hands. It only takes 2-3 minutes or so to incorporate the butter. Even quicker if you got stronger fingers than I do!
For preparing the Asian pears, you just need to core it and cut the pear into slices. I don't bother with peeling the pears. Even the rough skin of an Asian pear didn't bother me whatsoever when eating the dessert. So why waste the time and energy to peel the fruit. Plus I am sure there are some benefits for you to keep that skin on too, ask your favorite nutritionist.
Place the sliced Asian pears into your pan. Then squeeze on your lemon juice and mix to combine. Then sprinkle the topping all over the pears.
⏲️ Time & Temp - Air Fry at 325 degrees for 9-13 minutes or until the top has browned and the Asian pear slices have softened.
Keep a close eye, especially the very first time you are making this cobbler. You want it nicely browned, not blackened. Make sure when you are cooking the cobbler that it's not hitting the heating element at all.
In case you were wondering you don't need to take the insert out of your air fryer basket if you got one. Keeping it will allow air to flow all around the dessert. The only reason I would take it out is if the cobbler wasn't going to fit otherwise.
More Baking with Fruit
My love for baking with fruit knows no end. Maybe I should have just made a blog dedicated to just that! Let me share with you all my favorite recipes below. You can also check out my Baking with Fruit page to see all of the recipes on this blog for baked fruit desserts.
- Maple Blueberry Buckle
- Individual Blackberry Upside Down (also in the air fryer!)
- Apple Quinoa Cobbler
- Peach Pie with Streusel Topping
- Strawberry-Rhubarb Sour Cream Muffins
If you love baking with apples, then you need to check out my 28 Common & Uncommon Apple Varieties to Bake With.
Single Serving Asian Pear Cobbler in the Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 whole Asian pear cored, sliced into pieces
- 2 tablespoons cold butter cut into cubes
- ⅛ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- spices to taste optional
- ½ small lemon juiced
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and flour. Add the butter. Using your hands rub the butter into the sugar/flour mix until it’s the texture of very coarse cornmeal. Add any spices to taste.
- Slice the pear into slices. You don't need to peel them.
- Add the fresh lemon juice onto the pears.
- Then arrange them in a small pan that will fit into your air fryer without the pear hitting the top. Sprinkle the sugar/flour mixture on top of the fruit.
- Put into your air fryer at 325 degrees for 9-13 minutes or until the top is brown.
- Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before digging in. This can be eaten hot, cold, or at room temperature whatever you love best.
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