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Chunky Pear Nut  Cake

2/28/2015

16 Comments

 

Chunky Pear Nut Cake

A moist and delicious cake, easy to make and flavored with spices and juicy pears.

Pear Nut Bread
These days, I wander around grocery stores like I used to wander around clothing stores. In Santa Cruz, we are fortunate to have several grocery stores that carry a wide variety of healthy food. I have my favorite stores and several weekly farmers' markets to choose from. We have some great bakeries and delicatessens too. I feel spoiled when I look at all the choices I have. I like to know where food is coming from—not enriched or altered with unnecessary chemicals and additives. I trust some stores more than others. One of the reasons I don't bake as much as I used to is that it is just so tempting to get something very tasty from one of my favorite places. But there are times when I need to have something homemade on my kitchen counter, like this moist and easy-to-make pear cake. 
Pear Nut Cake
The credit for this well-loved cake goes to Gale Gand, a nationally acclaimed pastry chef from Illinois. I found her recipe in an old magazine years ago and have been making it whenever pears are in season. However, this cake is easily made with any other fruit and whatever nuts you have in the pantry. I roast my nuts, and prefer using pecans instead of walnuts. The spices in the recipe add a distinct flavor and are well balanced. I also reduced the amount of sugar by one third. I use canola oil, but any vegetable oil will do. The cake is flavorful, moist and tastes even better the next day.

One of my first blog posts were crepes filled with goat cheese and mushrooms. I make them for my niece when she comes to visit me from Germany.
Mushroom Goat Cheese Crepes
preview recipe for the Pear Nut Bread
16 Comments
Kay link
3/1/2015 05:53:35 am

What a lovely recipe. This is just the kind of cake I like and especially things with pears. Sounds delicious.

Reply
Gerlinde
3/2/2015 01:26:44 am

Thank you Kay, I love rich creamy pear tarts.

Reply
EllaDee link
3/1/2015 08:23:07 am

This is a recipe that I will bookmark, and make. I love pears fresh, with cheese or any way at all - just last night I cooked up 3 that were getting soft in Madeira so I can freeze them for later use. Next time, they will become cake! I must buy a tube tin.
I like to bake and have never been known to refuse a slice of cake!, and the G.O. likes to eat what I bake, but sometimes it's better to just buy a piece of something nice. I would much rather browse good food markets and stores than clothing stores!

Reply
Gerlinde
3/1/2015 09:28:33 am

I don't see why you can't bake this cake in 2 5x10 inch bread pans, if you have them. That way you don't have to buy a tube pan and can freeze one cake. A round or larger pan would leave the center uncooked. I always put a cookie sheet under my pans to avoid messes in the oven. This cake lasts several days.Your pears cooked in Madeira sound delicious.

Reply
Deb|EastofEdenCooking link
3/1/2015 09:42:35 am

Fruit desserts are a favorite of mine! I would very much enjoy a slice of the Chunky Pear Cake with my afternoon coffee!

Reply
Gerlinde
3/2/2015 01:21:42 am

Let's have some cake together soon.

Reply
TheKitchenLioness
3/1/2015 04:54:00 pm

Dear Gerlinde, this cake looks moist, delicious and simply utterly fabulous - love cakes like this and your pretty cake plate makes it look even more elgant. Gale Gands recipes are wonderful - I tried a few and have had great success with them.
Liebe Grüße, Andrea
P.S.: With respect to the cookbook you asked about, this it is - a must for vegetable dishes and written in 2011 by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, called „River Cottage Everyday Veg“.Should you get the book, why not consider joining us for the Cottage Cooking Club cooking adventure, details can be found here: http://cottage-cooking-club.blogspot.de/p/rules.html

Reply
Gerlinde
3/2/2015 01:17:25 am

Andrea, thanks for asking me to join, I will order the book and let you know. I like to find some more recipes by Gale Gand.

Reply
Kathryn link
3/2/2015 07:52:37 am

I am not much of a sweet eater, but this one looks like it has a nice balance of fruit and nuts and wouldn't be too sweet. If I were to make a homemade cake, this would definitely be one of them!

Reply
Gerlinde
3/2/2015 02:10:30 pm

This is a nice cake with a lot of flavor.

Reply
nancy at good food matters link
3/3/2015 01:16:23 am

what a beautiful looking cake---and the tulip behind it!

Reply
Gerlinde
3/4/2015 07:43:51 am

Thank you Nancy

Reply
Marylin Warner link
3/6/2015 12:38:40 pm

Gerlinde, this is a perfect recipe! I'm with my mother, and even though she no longer likes previously favorite foods, she still loves pears. I'm going to make this for her, minus nuts, since her teeth aren't up to nuts. THANK YOU!

Reply
Gerlinde
3/6/2015 02:07:41 pm

Marylin, I hope your mom likes the spices in the cake. You can leave them out. The cake is going to loose it's spicy flavor but your mom might prefer that.

Reply
Bam's Kitchen link
3/7/2015 12:36:00 pm

Beautiful moist cake and great timing. I just bought several fresh pear the other day at the market and they are perfectly ripe today. I can't wait to try the recipe. Is that the ocean or lake behind you in that photo. Looks lovely.

Reply
Gerlinde
3/7/2015 02:01:52 pm

Thank you, I hope you like the recipe. Yes, that is the Pacific Ocean, I am fortunate enough to live near it.

Reply



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