Saturday 16 August 2014

Pear and Walnut Cake


I made this cake for this month's AlphaBakes which is the letter 'P'. I saw this gorgeous recipe online for a Caramel pear and walnut cake and knew I had to try it. Unfortunately, I burnt my walnuts slightly but the cake still tasted good. You can really taste the pears in this cake as there is mashed pear as well as chunks of pear in the cake.  I've never mashed pears before and it was tricky as my pear was quite firm but it really added to the flavour and texture of the cake. I'm definitely going to try using mashed fruits in baking in the future. The caramel walnut topping was divine and complemented the pear cake very well. 

As mentioned, I am entering this to AlphaBakes hosted this month by Caroline from Caroline Makes and co-hosted by myself on alternate months. The letter is P for pear. 




 adding mashed pears 

 stir in the flour 

 adding chopped peaars 

 ready to bake 

 making the caramel 



 you can still see the chunks of pear in the cake 


Recipe adapted slightly from The Daring Gourmet

For the cake
125g flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon baking power
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
120g light brown sugar
2 eggs
70g butter, melted
2 medium sized conference pears, mashed
2 medium sized conference pears, chopped 

For the Caramel Walnut Topping
100g walnuts
50g brown sugar
50g butter
60mls double cream

  • Preheat the oven to 180C.
  • Prepare the walnuts first by placing on to a baking tray and lightly toasting for 7 -8 minutes - be careful not to burn them!
  • Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and ground spices in a bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, eggs, butter and mashed pear. Mix well. 
  • Sift the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix well.
  • Add in the chopped pears.
  • Pour the batter into a lined 23cm round springform tin and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
  • When the cake has been in the oven for 15 minutes, start making the topping by placing the sugar, butter and cream in a small saucepan.
  • Bring to the boil and boil for 2 minutes.
  • Stir in the toasted, chopped walnuts and continue to boil for a few more minutes. 
  • Once the cake is cooked, remove from the oven and prick the top of the cake with a fork all over. 
  • Pour the caramel walnut topping over the cake.
  • Eat the cake warm or at room temperature. 

17 comments:

  1. Anything with caramel is a winner for me and I can imagine how gorgeous this is with the addition of the nuts and pears =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't use to like caramel but now I love the stuff!

      Delete
  2. oooh, how gorgeous... i've actually just made a batch of caramel... what to do, what to do!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just delicious!
    I love pears in cakes!!
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. I bet it was lovely and moist. I love caramel on/ in cake so I bet that just made it extra yummy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really was delicious and moist and the caramel was just heavenly.

      Delete
  5. I really like early Autumn seasonal baking - pears and walnuts are perfect!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! Can't wait for proper autumn baking.

      Delete
  6. Beautiful looking cake - love the flavours

    ReplyDelete
  7. The caramel topping sounds divine.. this would be a great way of using up pears which are getting a bit too soft to eat. Thanks for sharing it with Alphabakes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed, pears are so often forgotten in baking

      Delete
  8. Pear and caramel sounds a delicious combination. And pear in cake is so good! Bet it tasted wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was absolutely delicious. I must use pears more in baking.

      Delete
  9. Pears are excellent in baking but I've never tried them in combination with walnuts. Really does sound good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They go really well with walnuts especially when you don't burn them!

      Delete

I've had to turn word verification back on as I've had a lot of problem with spam lately, Apologies! Please, please do leave a comment - I appreciate every one of them and will reply to all of them. Thanks!