Weekly Kitchen: Let the Baking Begin
By ANGELA MCRAE, Special to The Weekly
There’s so much to love about November!
I’ve started pulling out all of my Thanksgiving decorations, and it’s time to launder and press some favorite linens and double-check that I have enough turkey plates and platters and amber-colored glassware to use on Thanksgiving Day.
Setting a lovely table and baking special treats for family and friends are some of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions, and I’m always looking for delicious new recipes to try too. Last month, I came across an apple cake recipe in one of my old metal recipe boxes. That cake was okay but a little bland, so I decided to freeze it and taste it again a week later. The apple cake somehow developed a better flavor while frozen, so I may bake it again one day but will add some spices next time.
This month, I wanted to try a cake that tasted good straight out of the oven, and I came across an old recipe for a pear cake that sounded tempting. I do love pears, so that recipe appealed to me, and with last month’s apple cake experiment fresh on my mind, I added some spices to be sure that this time, the cake tasted like fall. Drizzled with caramel glaze and topped with chopped pecans, this tasty cake with a surprisingly light texture is one I’ll be happy to serve this Thanksgiving.
Spiced Pear Cake with Caramel Glaze
4 Bartlett pears, peeled and diced fine (1/4-inch to 1/3-inch cubes)
2 cups + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided use
3 large eggs
1-1/4 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ginger
I teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-3/4 cups chopped pecans, divided use
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Caramel Glaze (recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine pears and the 1 tablespoon of sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the remaining 2 cups of sugar, eggs and the oil at medium speed until well blended.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, salt and baking soda. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, beating on low speed until combined. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the pears, 1-1/2 cups of the pecans and vanilla. Batter will be very thick. Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch Bundt pan (or spray with Baker’s Joy). Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake cool for 10 minutes in pan before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling, then drizzle with Caramel Glaze.
Caramel Glaze
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
Add all ingredients to a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil and stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes. Let mixture cool for just a few minutes until it thickens slightly, then spoon over cake. Sprinkle cake with remaining 1/4 cup pecans.
