Poached Pear Loaf Cake

It’s almost the end of bakemas 2021 already but before we get there, I still have a few recipes to share – including this poached pear loaf cake.

While pears are still season, you may as well make use of them. They’re super juicy and ripe – which is even better for this recipe. You’re looking for something when you press it, its soft but not so ripe its damaged.

I love this cake as its perfectly spiced, light and fluffy and then you get the delicious juicy pear. In each slice, you’re guaranteed to get some of the pear – which is super juicy and moist without being too much for the cake.

If you likes something a little different to what you can buy in the supermarkets, why not give this a try – I promise you won’t look back. Homemade is always good and with a little time and effort, you could have a homemade holiday treat in no time!

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

 

Ingredients:

Poaching liquid:

200g granulated sugar.

200ml water.

 

Cake:

200g butter.

200g granulated sugar.

5 eggs.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

200g plain flour.

1.5 tsp baking powder.

pinch of salt.

1 tsp ground cinnamon.

1/2 tsp ground ginger.

1/2 tsp ground mixed spice.

1/4 tsp ground cloves.

 

Decoration:

Apricot glaze (or jam).

Flaked almonds.

 

Method:

Before you get started on this cake, you’ll want to do some prep. start by weighing up your ingredients, lining your loaf pan, preheating the oven to 180˚c/350˚f and getting any equipment you may need such a stand mixer and spatula ready.

To start on the recipes you’ll want to make your poached pears – simply take a saucepan and place in the water and sugar, combining to two together. Then place on the heat, over a medium-high heat until it almost reaches a boil. Then go ahead and place in the pears and leave them to poach for 5-10 minutes – you’re looking for the pears to soften a little but not become mushy. Set aside once poached, out of the liquid – reserve the liquid to use later on.

To make the cake part, simply take a bowl and place in the butter and sugar – beating the two together until lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency.

Then add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in-between each addition. Repeat this with the remainder of your eggs, until you have none left. You’ll also want to add in your vanilla at this point.

Give the bowl a good scraping down, this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in from earlier on.

Then sift in your dry ingredients – sometimes dry ingredients are known to be a little clumpy. Discard any lumps in the bin. Incorporate the dry ingredients on a low speed to start with, working your way up to a medium-high, just until a clear cake batter has formed.

Take your loaf pan and spread a thinnish layer (roughly 1cm thick) cake batter – now take your pears and place them on top of the cake batter, spacing them as evenly as possible.

With the remaining cake batter, transfer into a piping bag and pipe around the fruit, leaving just the very tip exposed,. Spread and level the batter as much as needed before placing in your preheated oven and baking for 45-50 minutes – a tester should come out clean when inserted into the centre.

Once baked, you can allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then brush over some of that excess poaching liquid – this adds moisture and prevents wastage.

Now the cake has been baked and is cooled, brushed with the poaching liquid, you can brush it over with apricot glaze, then scatter flaked almonds in rough line down the centre. Leave for a little while, then enjoy.

That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.