Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Pear & cranberry cake


With Autumn's fog-drenched finale I assumed the first day of Winter would be wrought with slippery, frosted driveways and sodden grass; looking out my window I could not have been more wrong. It seems Winter has wryly greeted us with a day of sunshine and I could almost say, warm temperatures.
Despite this seemingly friendly gesture I remain dubious and intend to stock my cupboards and counter tops with comforting and warming foods, waiting readily for the moment this illusion of a lemon soaked day gives way to the palettes of ash and glacial winds that I have come to expect of Mr Winter. I shall take your sunshiny day my friend, but don't think you have me fooled, I have a remedy to your bone-chilling temperament in the form of a fruit-jewelled cake, ready to restore rosiness to my cheeks at a moment's notice.

ease: 5/5.
prep time: 15mins.
cooking time: 60mins.
total: 1hour & 15mins.

taste: 4/5. Slyly addictive.

A crunchy topping gives way to moist cake filled with warm spices, sweet pear, and vibrant tart cranberries. At first thought this cake seems rather humble but after the first bite you will find yourself going for a second, then a third and then before you know it you have had two pieces and are considering another slice. I truly have no idea why this cake is so addictive, but it is. I managed to polish off half of it within two days...

I did not bother with the glaze, and I'm glad I didn't as I feel it would have made the cake too sweet.
I also upped the cinnamon to 2tsp and doubled the cranberries to 2cups as I wanted more pockets of that wonderful cerise tang.

would I make them again: Yes. Everyone loved it.

recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pear-Cranberry-Cake-356040

10 comments:

  1. A wonderful combo and cake!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. this looks delicious!! I'd love to make something with pears! Nothing like a warm, fruity, spicy cake in the cold weather !! :)
    Hannah x

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  3. Yes, I agree, I think Mr Winter is teasing us ;) It was a gorgeous day, though. And what a beautiful cake! Perfect with all these gorgeous pears we have lately.
    Heidi xo

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  4. Wow, someone treated me to a cake that looked almost exactly like this a few months ago and it was so delicious. Love.

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  5. Delicious combination of flavours! The cake looks so pretty and includes my favourite fall ingredients, I am bookmarking this recipe to try it in a few months.

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  6. it's those subtly addictive treats that'll get ya, and i can see how this would sneak right up and hook a person. lovely work!

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  7. I love the idea of a "fruit-jewelled cake" that isn't traditional (icky, in my opinion :P ) fruitcake!

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  8. Pears always make me think fall. I'm saving this recipe for next October...I love all the flavors and textures. Beautifully presented too. Those colors!

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  9. Mmm this looks so lovely -- can't wait to try this when fall comes around (though I CAN wait a while before fall comes in order to enjoy summer first 8))

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  10. I love the idea behind this.. but I'll leave baking to more capable hands :)

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