‘A great dance for the taste buds for tea time’

We are officially one set closer to winter as the clocks have set back and the evenings are getting so much darker at an earlier rate. The weather is still somewhat warm but there is an overcast of greyness that could gladly be substituted to sunshine. During this transitional season, I notice myself craving for something to nibble on while drinking tea, so I thought it was time to make a simple pear loaf. My friend and I are officially stepping into christmas mode on friday as we are going to see FORKs christmas concert, but at home my hubby and I have decided that the flow to christmas is allowed to happen late November or the beginning of December! It still feels a little crazy that Christmas is so close because I still have summer flowers on my balcony that are blooming away to their fullest potential.

Nevertheless, I found the cutest little pears in the market & wanted to make an easy tea loaf where I could plop them into the centre. You could just as well make this recipe without the pears, but I think it adds a great autumnal touch as we are in November already. The pears also add moisture to the bite working perfectly with the cardamom, crunchy nuts and sweet flavour. This loaf makes a great tea time treat served with a hot cup of ear grey and a dollop of whipped cream. I added lots of pistachio on top, as I love the salty touch it provides.

Pear Loaf

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tsp freshly ground cardamom
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped nuts/seeds ( I used brazilian and cashew nuts)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 10 tbsp melted unsalted butter
• 3 small pears whole (a bit of oil for brushing surface)

garnish: pistachios & whipped cream or jam

Directions

Preheat oven 180 degrees celsius.

Cover the baking tray with greased parchment paper. In a bowl, combine together all the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until frothy. Add the dry ingredients to the eggs and mix until combined. Mix in the butter and sour cream. Pur the batter onto the cake tray and place the pears into the batter. Brush oil on the pears to prevent them from burning. Bake for about an hour or a bit less and once ready, let it cook before serving. Add crushed pistachio on top of the loaf and serve with whipped cream and a piping hot cup of earl grey tea.