Bartlett Pear Bundt Cake

I was tempted to bake Pear Scones with Pear Maple Butter this week but the recipe for Bartlett Pear Cake piqued my interest enough to leave the scone recipe for another day.

 

I’ve made cakes and breads using peaches, apples, bananas and berries but the addition of pear is a first for me.

 

I love this time of year, the sight of fruit filled bushels and baskets make my favourite season even more enjoyable. Using the harvest fruit to cook and bake with really makes this time of year extra special.

 

Bartlett Pear Bundt Cake is absolutely delicious and can certainly feed a crowd. The pear chunks add a delicate pear taste and moistness while the hint of ginger, walnuts and brown sugar add an extra element of taste and texture.

 

Perhaps the most special part of baking this cake is that I used my retro harvest yellow bundt pan.  How fitting that I chose the harvest yellow colour over the poppy red and avocado green available at the time.

The pan is a little worse for wear after so many years but still turns out a perfect Bundt cake!

Bartlett Pear Bundt Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups sour cream

2 medium firm but ripe Bartlett pears cut into small chunks

Filling

¾ cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 cup medium-chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Generously butter a Bundt pan and set aside.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
6. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix until well blended.
7. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients gradually until well mixed.  Batter will be sticky.
8. Using a spatula carefully fold in pear chunks into the batter. Set aside.
9. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, ginger and walnuts.
10. Place 1/3 of the batter in the bottom of prepared cake pan.
11. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the brown sugar mixture.  Repeat layers twice more.
12. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until top is firm and cake tester comes out clean.
13. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn cake out onto a rack to cool completely.
14. Lightly sift confectioners' sugar over top.

Notes, Tips and Suggestions

• Reducing the brown sugar to ½ cup for the filling works well.
• If top of cake is browning a little too much loosely tent some foil wrap on the top for the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking.
• A light sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar over the top of the cake finishes it off perfectly.
• Serve with a dollop of ginger and cinnamon flavoured whipped cream.  Whip 3/4 cup whipping cream with 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar until thick.
• Cake freezes well.

Caramel Baked Pears

Summer has been showing those telltale signs of coming to an end.  Tomato preserving all done, herbs from the garden cut and dried for the winter and  cucumber plants making an effort to produce those last few  cucumbers as the plants slowly wither away. 

As summer fruit and vegetables disappear from the supermarkets and farmer’s markets the fall bounty is quick to take its place.  My favourite Bartlett pears have already made an appearance in the grocery stores. 

Our pear tree did its best to bring forth a few pears on one branch of a tree which has been grafted with five varieties. Unfortunately, it was hard to determine the variety since they sadly didn’t make it anywhere near to maturity.  I’m anticipating a better crop next year. 

Pear jam was the first thing on my mind after buying some Bartlett pears last week.  It’s one of our favourite fruit jams and a quick check of the pantry revealed the supply was dwindling and needed to be replenished.

I saved several new pear recipes and have patiently waited a full year to try them out with this season’s pears.  Caramel Baked Pears was first on my list although the wait was prolonged to some under ripe pears.

I often make Caramel Sauce around this time of year to enjoy with crisp, tart apple wedges.  A quick dip of the apple wedge into the Caramel Sauce makes an extra special fall treat.

The pears in this recipe are baked in caramel sauce until sweet and tender.  A spoonful of vanilla yogurt and a sprinkle of sliced toasted almonds give a different but very pleasurable taste experience.

Delicious recipes come in “pears” I’m already contemplating a second good recipe to try out!

Caramel Baked Pears
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup water
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 medium firm ripe pears
2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons sliced almonds, toasted

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes or until slightly thickened.
3. Remove caramel mixture from heat and set aside.
4. Peel and core pears, cut in half lengthwise.
5. Arrange pear halves cut side up in an 8 inch baking dish and drizzle caramel mixture over pears.
6. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes then uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes or until tender.
7. Place pear halves into individual dessert dishes and spoon 2 tablespoons of caramel mixture evenly over pears.
8. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon yogurt and a sprinkle of toasted almonds.

Notes, Tips and Suggestions

• I would enjoy these better with a little less sugar, next time I will use ¼ cup instead of the 1/3.
• Must be delicious served with vanilla ice cream instead of yogurt.
• Make sure firm pears are used, soft, overripe pears may not give the same result.
• Will try with a sprinkle of toasted walnuts instead next time.
• A melon baller works perfectly to scoop out cores.
• Recipe didn't specify variety of pear to use.  I used my favourite Bartlett, my second choice would be the Bosc variety.