Sweet treats

Sticky pear, nut and ginger loaf

8-10
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This sticky pear, nut and ginger loaf recipe is a real autumn treat and pairs perfectly with a steaming cup of tea or coffee. It’s the ideal treat to enjoy after a day spent mindfully outdoors, whether it be walking and exploring or tending the garden.

We especially love to serve this ginger loaf recipe with a cup of spiced coffee. Add your favourite warming spices – including nutmeg, cloves and ginger – to a cafetière with your favourite coffee and enjoy.

Speaking of warming spices, we’ve also included a couple of our favourites here. Cinnamon and ginger are the ideal addition to autumnal bakes. Along with fabulous flavours, they also provide a wealth of wellbeing benefits. For example, did you know that cinnamon is helpful for our gut health? This tasty spice has prebiotic properties meaning that it helps to feed the beneficial bacteria that live in our gut.

Once your loaf comes out of the oven, drizzle with syrup and add a sprinkle of chopped nuts for a satisfying crunch. We particularly like hazelnuts. These nutritious nuts can be helpful for supporting our wellbeing. Hazelnuts contain vitamin E, which may help protect against certain cancers and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Ingredients

  • 165g unsalted butter
  • 115g dark brown sugar
  • 3 pears (approx. 200g) peeled, cored and diced
  • 1 tbsp ginger preserve or syrup (from a jar of stem ginger)
  • 4 tbsp honey
  • 200ml milk
  • 250g spelt flour
  • 11⁄2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 75g mixed nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds)
  • 3 pieces stem ginger, chopped small
  • 2 tbsp ginger preserve or syrup
  • Handful of mixed nuts, roasted
  • Mascarpone (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4. Grease and line a two-litre loaf tin. Heat a tsp of the butter in a pan over a medium heat. When it starts to foam, sprinkle in a tsp of the dark brown sugar and stir in the pear chunks. Add in the ginger preserve and let it cook for 2-3 minutes until caramelised, stirring to make sure the pears are covered evenly but still retain their shape. Leave to cool while you prepare the rest of the loaf.
  2. Melt the rest of the butter and sugar, as well as the honey in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Once the mixture has melted, add the milk, stir and leave to cool.
  3. Sift the flour into a bowl with the baking powder and dry spices. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk mixture. Using a wooden spoon fold the flour in and stir to form a smooth batter. Then add in the eggs, nuts, stem ginger and caramelised pears – carefully mixing it all together.
  4. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake in the oven for around one hour or until a skewer in the middle comes out clean.
  5. Once it’s out of the oven, drizzle over two tbsp of ginger preserve or syrup and sprinkle over the chopped nuts. Cool for five minutes in the tin, then remove to a wire rack. Serve warm or cold, with mascarpone if you like.