This is a lovely cake that I always used to make using just apples. They almost melt into the cake, making it beautifully moist. The other day I had some pears that I wanted to use as well, and so I used half pears and half apples with the most delightful results!!
I kicked up the spice a bit. Normally I use only cinnamon, but pears go so very well with cardamom . . . and nutmeg is a warm spice that goes well with most fruits, and so I added some of each of those.
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CAKE. No, not to look at, it's actually kind of ugly to look at, but flavour-wise, this cake cannot be beat. It's just gorgeous!
I added some toasted walnut pieces for a bit of crunch. I do like a cake that is interesting and has different bits in it, don't you??? But fear not, if nuts are not your thing, you can easily leave them out, no problem. Likewise the sultanas.
I had some caramel sauce left from the other day when I made those pumpkin fritters. A bit of that warmed up and spooned over top went down a real treat. It was absolutely perfect with this cake. It almost tasted like a candy apple cake then . . .
Of course, vanilla ice cream would go very well also . . . or custard, for what is icecream but frozen custard anyways. Oh heck, why not go whole hog and have clotted cream. Now that would be fantabulous!
*Pear and Apple Spice Cake*Makes one large tube cake Moist and spicy and stogged full of fruit, raisins and nuts. Delicious served warm with some caramel sauce. Feel free to leave out the raisins and nuts if you don't like them.
420g of plain flour, plus more for dusting the pan (3 cups)354ml of vegetable oil (1 1/2 cups)380g of granulated sugar (2 cups)3 large free range eggs1 tsp salt1 tsp ground cinnamon1/2 tsp ground cardamom1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg1 tsp bicarbonate of soda1 tsp vanilla paste3 cups of peeled and thinly sliced pears and apples (I used cox's apples and conference pears
from our own trees)115g of chopped toasted walnuts (1 cup)150g of sultana raisins (1 cup)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Grease a 9 inch tube pan with some shortening and dust lightly with flour, shaking out any excess. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, spices, salt and soda. Set aside. Put the oil and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer, or a stand mixer (using the paddle blade) for five minutes, until thick. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and continue to beat until creamy. Stir the dry ingredients into the batter. Fold in the fruit and nuts. Spread this batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top over. Bake for 1 hour and fifteen minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely in the pan before turning out. Serve at room temperature with or without ice cream and some caramel sauce, if desired.
Speaking of cakes, it's always nice to have a nice tin to store all of your baked goodies in. I was recently sent this lovely cake tin from Dot Com Gift Shop. I fell right in love with it. This Three Tier Red and Cream Cake Tin has a lovely vintage look which I just adore.
Made from sturdy enamel coated tin, all three compartments are ample in size and close air tight to help keep things fresh. It would make a wonderful Christmas gift for that baker in your life who also adores anything vintage looking. It sells for £34.95. Its a beautiful way to keep three separate baked goodies stored properly without taking up a lot of counter space! It gets a 10 out of 10 from me! I love the colours and the vintage look of it.
I was also sent this adorable set of 12 Christmas Carnival Mini Loaf Baking Cases, also from Dot Com Gift Shop. Made from sturdy card and beautifully decorated in a vintage Christmas images they are the perfect size for individual loaves, perfectly sized for gift giving. I would buy three sets and then bake three different loafs in each set and then present 12 lucky elderly neighbors and friends or singletons with a gift of one of each, wrapped and tied up in a pretty bow for the holidays. I can't think of one person that would turn that down.
They held up very well in baking without discolouring or going all floppy. How cute is that? These are also very reasonably priced at only £1.95 for the set of 12, which I think is great! They also have alot of other types of baking cases for the holidays as well as a whole array of different items in the Christmas Carnival Design!
Many thanks to Dot Com Gift Shop for sending me these!! I highly recommend both!
Note: Although I was sent these to try, any and all opinions are my own.
