Ginger Pear Bread

Hi guys!

It is saturday morning and the weekend should start right so I decided to fight the grey, cloudy weather outside and bring some warmth to the kitchen with baking. I had a few pears in the fruit bowl that needed to be used for something so I tried another recipe from Cynthia Barcomi's "Backbuch" that I've had on my mind a few weeks now. It is ginger pear bread. 

Here's the recipe:
260g (9 oz; 2 + 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
125g (4.4 oz; 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 generous pinch nutmeg
1 generous pinch cloves
250g (8 fl. oz; 1 cup) plain yoghurt
150ml (2/3 cup; 5 fl. oz) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar cane syrup or golden syrup
1 egg
1 large pear
75g (2.6 oz) raisins
75g (2.6 oz) walnuts

1) Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Cut the pear in small pieces, chop the walnuts and raisins.

2) In a bowl, measure the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, bicarb, ginger, salt, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon and mix to combine. In a second bowl, mix the egg, yoghurt, vegetable oil and syrup. 

3) Add the fluid ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Carefully fold in the pear pieces, raisins and walnuts. 

4) Grease a loaf tin or line with baking paper and fill with the dough. Bake for 55 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Let the bread cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it onto a cooling rack.

Yield: 1 bread
Active preparation time: about 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 1h 10 minutes
© Copyright: Cynthia Barcomi "Backbuch", p. 87

Here's how mine turned out:

I really love the combination of the spices and sweet pear. And I love fruit in cakes or breads at the moment. This is incredibly comforting and just the perfect thing to have a slice of with a hot cup of tea whenever it's a dark and grey outside.

Have fun trying and have a great weekend!