Country Pear Cake

My Grandma's pear tree was still producing plenty of fruit the week before last so I had an abundance of pears that I needed to find a use for. I went searching and came across a lovely looking recipe for Country Pear Cake. I decided to give it a go with a few small changes to the original recipe.

• I didn't have enough walnuts so added some pepitas too
• I used less sugar and butter, adding a splash of oil to the mix
• Pear juice was swapped for another juice I had in the fridge
• Wholemeal flour was used instead of plain

Country Pear Cake

Ingredients

• Melted butter, to grease
• 150g butter, at room temperature
• 270g (1 1/4 cups) caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 225g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 60ml (1/4 cup) pear juice
• 3 (about 450g) packham pears, peeled, cored, coarsely chopped
• 55g (1/2 cup) walnut halves, coarsely chopped
• 65g (1/3 cup) sultanas
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 2 tbs honey 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Brush a round 20cm (base measurement) cake pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base and side with non-stick baking paper.
2. Use an electric beater to beat together the butter and sugar in a medium bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until just combined. Sift together the flour and baking powder over the butter mixture and gently fold until just combined. Add the pear juice and fold to combine.
3. Add the pear, walnut, sultanas and mixed spice and stir to combine. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake in oven for 1 1/4 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. Brush the cake with honey. Set aside in the pan for 10 minutes to cool slightly before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into wedges and place on serving plates. Drizzle with extra honey and serve with creme fraiche, if desired.

 
When I added the pear to the cake mixture I was more than a little worried because there appeared to be far too much pear! Due to the enormous amount of fruit in the cake, I was also unsure if it would need the whole 90minutes cooking time the recipe called for. In the end I cooked it for probably about an hour.
When it had cooled slightly, I drizzled plenty of honey over the top and enjoyed a nice warm piece of cake.

The cake truly is delicious. It's bursting with pear and is fabulous hot or cold. I'm keeping it in the fridge so I can enjoy eating it all week long.
Next time I have a few excess pairs, this will be the first thing I make. It is fabulous!