Gingerbread Poached Pear Loaf (Vegan)
The latest in the Comfort Creations series curated by Lin (@tumblinbumblincrumblincookie) and I, this one-bowl Gingerbread Poached Pear Cake is masquerading as a technical masterpiece but is, in reality, unfathomably simple! The poached pears nestle delicately in a nutty, spiced sponge and make for a show-stopping cross-section that will definitely impress your mum.
The ground nuts I used for this recipe were red-skin cashews, hence the pink speckled crumb. You could use any ground nut you like – ground almonds are quite widely available in UK supermarkets or, if you’re lucky enough to own a spice/nut grinder, you could grind a nut of your own choosing (I have a feeling hazelnuts would go down a storm!).
The sponge itself is a true one-bowl affair. I like to add all the dry ingredients first and give them a little mix before adding the milk and poaching liquid – this helps make sure everything is evenly distributed without having to do too much mixing. Mixing your batter too much will start to over-develop the gluten in the flour, making for a tough loaf. I use a metal spoon or silicone spatula to fold the ingredients together until just combined to make sure I’m working the batter as little as possible.
We ate ours topped with a generous dollop of soya yoghurt and an extra dusting of cinnamon just to turn the autumn-vibes dial all the way to 100. The loaf will keep in an airtight container for 3 – 4 days or for up to 3 months sliced and stored in the freezer!
Gingerbread Poached Pear Loaf (Vegan)
Ingredients:
- 3 small pears
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3cm root ginger
- 200g self-raising flour
- 100g ground cashews (or other ground nuts e.g. almonds, walnuts)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 150g golden caster sugar
- 200ml soya milk
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180 celcius and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
- Peel the pears, leaving the stalks in tact and slice the bottom off each so they stand up on their own.
- Place the peeled pears in a small sauce pan and cover with water, leaving just the stalks exposed. Add the cinnamon stick and root ginger and bring to the boil.
- Simmer for approximately 6 minutes then carefully remove from the water – reserving 25ml of the poaching liquid – and set aside.
- In a large bowl combine all the remaining ingredients, including the 25ml of poaching liquid, and use a metal spoon to gently fold everything together.
- Place the poached pears in the loaf tin (standing up) and carefully pour in the batter, making sure to leave the tops of the pears exposed.
- Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Allow to rest in the tin for 5 – 10 mins, then turn out and leave to cool completely before slicing.