One of my favourite things to eat is poached pears, it s soo simple and just delish. The classic combo of pear and chocolate is a match made in heaven so I poured it into a cake.
TIP 1: buy pears that are still firm, makes it easier to each and keep their shape.
TIP 2: Prepare and weigh all the ingredients and read carefully the recipe before starting.
TIP 3: Use loose leaf and pronounced early grey tea, I love the Fortum and Mason one ( not paid to post)
more TIPS:
- I used sour cream to keep the cake nice and moist.
- You can also add chunks of poached pear in the cake batter but ensure they are patted dry as not to make the batter too wet.
- Add more ground up spice and tea in the cake batter if you want the cake to have a more pronounced flavour.
STEP 1: Bring the water to the boil, crush the earl grey and cardamom pods and add to the water. Add the sugar and pears and reduce the heat to let simmer for 20 minutes.
The pears should be poached but not cooked all the way through nor too soft. Remove from the pot and let cool.
STEP 2: To make a bund cake in a round cake add a pipe or ring with aluminium foil in the middle. Grease the 25 cm round bake tine with butter and dust with a little flour.
STEP 3: In a large bowl beat with mixer with paddle attachment the butter and brown sugar together till light and combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beat until well combined. Add in half of the flour mixture and half of the cream mixture and mix together. Add the remainder until just combined.
(check recipe below for further steps)
STEP 6: Pour the batter in the cake tin, place the pears ( hold them up with toothpicks if needed).
