CARAMELISED PEAR TEACAKES
Description
(makes 12 teacakes)
Serve at morning coffee or afternoon tea accompanied by a mixture of whipped cream and natural yoghurt. Serve warm for dessert with Orange Crème Anglaise or Vanilla Ice Cream. These teacakes can be prepared in advance and frozen uncooked. Cook directly from freezer allowing a little extra cooking time.
INGREDIENTS
70g butter
100g (approx ½ cup) brown sugar
3-4 medium pears (peeled, halved and cored)
185g (1 + 1/3 cups) flour (preferably high grade)
135g (2/3 cup) sugar
1½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
45g (3 tbsp) crystallised ginger (finely chopped)
3 eggs
125ml (½ cup) canola oil
5ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
1½ tsp orange zest (grated)
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Prepare pears. Cut 4 pear halves through the waist. Cut 1cm wedges from the 'bottom' halves. Grate the remaining 'top' halves and make up to 1 cup (150g) by grating remaining pears.
- For the caramelised pears, melt butter and pour evenly into 12 muffin tins. Sprinkle brown sugar (about 2 heaped tsp) and arrange 2 pear slices in base of each tin. Place the tins in refrigerator to set the butter while you prepare teacake mixture.
- In a bowl, sieve together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, ground ginger and salt. Add crystallised ginger.
- In a second bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla and orange zest. Add grated pears and mix until just combined.
- Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients until just combined (do not over mix as teacakes will be tough). Carefully pour batter over pears to fill muffin tins.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow teacakes to stand in tin for 5 minutes only before removing.
- Serve upside down.
