Not quite from my cookbook…Guest Recipe: Spiced Pear Cake
This is a special guest recipe from a special friend that I just know you will enjoy! Read on for more!
There are over 300 recipes in my recently published cookbook, Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us (Click on the link in Note 1 to get your own copy). Even in these inflationary times, we can prepare delicious meals for our family and do so in a way that does not break the budget. And it’s all in the cookbook!
Rob and Tish are wonderful neighbors of ours, and we have become such good friends. Tish is a baker, and a good one at that. In fact, she opened a little home-based baking business called Sweet Agnes Kolache. Besides providing wonderful baked goods for local coffee shops and others, she offers delicious treats to individuals like you and me! Click on the link here: sweeetagneskolache.com or in Note 2 to see her story and the wonderful baked goods you can order today!
Now, before you move on to the recipe, I have to tell you that she baked this cake for us and we are still enjoying it! Yeah, if you want to bake a delicious treat for your family or your next gathering, this is the one!
Tish Reams Fall Heritage Baking: Spiced Pear Cake
Autumn is my happy season for so many reasons: evening temperatures dip cooler, sunshine no longer scorches my neck, & the bees transition to an emphatic buzz as their summertime work grows closer to its end. Our lawn, blanketed by mounds of crunchy leaves, subtly challenges passing children to enjoy a stomp or two in its midst. Perhaps best of all, my kitchen shifts to hearty soups, warm bakes, & spiced treats, with aromas intense enough to elicit childhood memories of heritage baking with my Grandmother, Sweet Agnes.
While summertime meant sticky-humid days playing in her sandy, South Texas yard, it was during the fall that Sweet Agnes, would escape her small-town roots & spend more overnights with our family in San Antonio - or ‘Saun Antone’, as she would say in a rich Czech accent. As my school days began, she traded summer’s bounty of tart peaches & sweet tomatoes from the Rio Grande Valley for autumn’s Hill Country apples & fresh-picked pears both of which generally overflowed from trees in the neighbors’ yards.
While many folks deem apples the belle of fall, I’ll take a Bartlett or Anjou over any Pink Lady! Maybe it’s the softer texture of a ripe pear, its gentle sweetness profile, or perhaps the tender peel, but ever since I can remember, pears have always been my favorite. Sweet Agnes knew this, so she incorporated them in a variety of recipes to entice my picky eater tendencies. Whether it's Grandma’s Cinnamon-Refrigerator Pear Slices, her Ginger Pear Butter slathered over griddle cakes, or her Honey Poached Pears - these are the same recipes I’ve used to win over the picky eaters at my table. But the award for best after school snacking treat & spelling homework motivation? Grandma’s Spiced Pear Cake wins hands down (& forks up) every time!
Grandma’s recipe was my first introduction to the simple preparation technique called maceration which softens the pears, drawing out their natural juices. Similar to marinating, maceration involves minimal preparation & can be rendered on a variety of fresh fruits to enhance essential flavors. In the Sweet Agnes kitchen, we prefer to macerate with baking sugars, but my Aunties also used fruit juices, wine & liquors to add unique flavors & personalize heritage recipes.
So from my kitchen to yours, enjoy an adaptation of Grandma’s scrumptious cake guaranteed to bring a sweet start to your autumn season. Visit us at sweeetagneskolache.com today!
Ingredients
3 ½ to 4 cups fresh pears, peeled, cored & cubed
1 ½ cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups unbleached flour
2 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger (optional)
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup toasted, chopped pecans (optional, for garnish)
Glaze: 1 cup confectioner sugar + 2 TBSP whole milk or heavy cream
Make It
Combine the pears, sugar & oil in a large mixing bowl. Allow the fruit to macerate for 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease or spray a 10-inch bundt pan & set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda & spices.
Add eggs to the pears, lightly beating them with a fork to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the pear/egg mixture & fold with a spatula until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake for 60 minutes, checking at 50 minutes. Cake is done when it separates from the sides of the pan & springs back lightly when touched on top.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before unmolding & transferring from the bundt pan to a cooling rack until cool.
When cool, transfer cake to cake stand. Whip sugar and milk until combined into a thick glaze. Pour glaze over cake, allowing it to drip along the sides. If using pecans, sprinkle over glaze. Enjoy this delicious cake!
Tish Ream’s Spiced Pear Cake
What’s in it for me?
Good eats, that’s what!
Call to Action
Make this delicious cake for your family or next gathering! Everyone will enjoy it!
Besides getting a copy of the cookbook for yourself, it makes an excellent gift for those you love and care for, especially for those with a young family who are looking to save time and money in the kitchen. And learn a few things in the process! What a great idea!
Recommended Resources
Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us by David Giustozzi
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Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/437OhVQ
Sweet Agnes Kolaches: sweeetagneskolache.com