What do you do when you have a bunch of ugly (but delicious) fresh pears to use? Bake a cake! A whole wheat, low sugar pear cake heavily spiced with the flavors of chai–something you could eat for breakfast OR dessert.
You see, my friend has a sick pear tree. It saddens me greatly to see it. I am very much a lover of trees, so I despair to see any tree sick, but this one brought us so many lovely pears so it is especially dear to me. The bark is falling off in spots and there is some sort of fungal looking stuff growing on it. Just a few of the pears this year look relatively normal (like the ones in the photos), but most of the pears are shaped in crazy ugly forms … my friend is debating whether she should cut it down and let the sprout from the bottom grow in its place. Yes, that might be the thing to do, but I will miss the pears while we wait for the sprout to grow up.
To use the crazy little pears she gave me, I had to cut the little bits of usable pear from each unsightly lump of pear. They were a little dry and even hard in spots, but I kept cutting and made enough of a pile to make a good cake. It goes to show that even ugly food can be transformed into something beautiful, delightful and delicious. I think there is too much of a focus on the “looks” of the food–yes, beautiful food is more enticing, but you can start with ugly ingredients and still end up with something beautiful.
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Double Chai Pear Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
For the pear topping:
- 2 1/2 cups fresh pears, cored and chopped
- 1 Tablespoon apple whiskey (optional)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 chai tea bag
For the batter:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 chai tea bag
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Brush the bottom and sides of a 10-inch pie plate with butter. Set the rest of the butter aside for the batter.
- In a small bowl, stir together the chopped pears, whiskey, sugar, and vanilla. Cut open the tea bag and pour the contents into pear mixture, crumbling any larger tea bits with your fingers. Stir again to mix the chai in with the pears. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar. Cut open the tea bag and pour the contents into pear mixture, crumbling any larger tea bits with your fingers and stir into the flour mixture until well mixed. Stir in the milk and vanilla, then drizzle the reserved butter over top and stir that in as well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to smooth it out to the edges. Spoon the pear mixture over the batter, leaving 1/2 – 3/4 inch around the edge. Pour the juices from the bowl over top.
- Bake at 375 F. for 35 – 40 minutes or until the cobbler is golden brown and done in the middle. Test the middle of the cobbler with a wooden pick or knife … it should come out completely clean. If it’s not clean, bake a few minutes longer.
Notes
RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/
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This recipe was shared at Foodie FriDIY, Weekend ReTreat, What to Do Weekends, Munching Monday, Tuesday’s Table and Clever Chicks Bloghop.
