Pear and Cardamom Spice Cake.. A Delicious Teatime Treat!!!

I was thinking of baking and wanted to try something new. This time I decided to have a look at the cookbook ‘The Practical Encyclopedia of Cakes Cake Decorating’ by Janice Murfitt and Louise Pickford, which has been lying with me for so many years. Initially when I bought this book, I excitedly flipped through the pages only to realise that most of the ingredients mentioned in the book were unheard of in this part of the world. 🙁 That was quite a dampener and I had put this book away. Times have changed now. If not all, quite a few ingredients are readily available in the market.
Now was the time to put this book to good use. So I started looking through the recipes and zeroed in on the recipe of Pear and Cardamom Spice Cake. It looked like a simple yet mouth-watering teatime treat. I couldn’t wait any longer and so I went about with the process of cake making. This moist fruit and nut cake is simply delicious. 🙂


Pear and Cardamom Spice Cake.. A Delicious Teatime Treat!!!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 1/2 cup Caster sugar
- 2 Eggs lightly beaten
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 tablespoon Baking powder
- 2 tablespoons Milk
- 2 cardamoms (crush the seeds)
- 1/3 cup walnuts chopped
- 1 tablespoon Poppy seeds
- 575 gms Pears Dessert peeled cored and thinly sliced
For Decoration
- 3 Walnut halves
- 3 tablespoons Honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C. Reserve one-third of the pear slices and chop the rest.
- In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar till pale and light. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time until incorporated. Sift flour and baking powder together and fold in with the milk.
- Stir in the cardamom powder,chopped nuts and poppy seeds. Fold the chopped pears into the creamed mixture. Transfer to a greased and lined baking tin. Smooth the surface, making a small dip in the centre.
- Place three walnut halves in the centre of the cake mixture and fan the reserved pear slices around the walnuts, covering the cake mixture. Bake for 1-1/2 hours or until a skewer, inserted in the centre, comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and brush with honey. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- This cake can be stored for several days if kept in an airtight container. You can wrap and freeze it as well. Defrost at room temperature before serving.