Pear Gingerbread loaf
Prep 20
Cooking 35-45
Serves 10-12
The heady smell of gingerbread in the oven is just the way to welcome autumn into your kitchen! New-season pears are brilliant right now, so we incorporated them into this gingerbread recipe. It makes this classic sweet treat extra moist, adds a welcome fruity note to complement the ginger, plus introduces some fibre to your baking.
Always on the lookout for more ways to up the nutritional value of everything we develop, this recipe also uses good-for-you wholewheat flour in addition to the normal white flour. This pear gingerbread loaf is a gorgeous teatime treat and a brilliant hostess gift wrapped in wax paper and tied with a bow.
Ingredients
150g salted butter
250ml Muscovado sugar
45ml honey
375ml cake flour
125ml wholewheat flour
5ml baking powder
10ml bicarbonate of soda
10ml Natural ginger
2ml salt
150ml milk
1 extra large egg
150g pears, peeled and chopped into small cubes
15ml lemon juice
Method
Melt the butter, Muscovado sugar and honey in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and allow mixture to cool to room temperature. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and Natural ginger in a large bowl. Whisk together the egg and milk mix. Add the cooled sugar and butter mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring to combine. Stir in the whisked egg and milk as well. Finally toss the pears in the lemon juice and gently fold them into the batter.
Line a 24cm loaf pan with baking paper and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. (Cook’s tip: allow the baking paper to protrude 3cm past the edges of the loaf pan, it makes it really easy to lift the loaf out once baked.)
Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake in a pre-heated 170 degree Celsius oven for 35-45 minutes. Check the loaf after 35 minutes by inserting a thin skewer. If it comes out clean, the loaf is done. If batter clings to it, it needs some more time in the oven. Allow the gingerbread loaf to cool in the pan before lifting it out and slicing. This gingerbread loaf will keep in an airtight container in your fridge for up to a week.
