Pear Loaf

A Pear Loaf makes for the perfect teatime treat but let’s spice things up with a delicious tangy twist on the classic recipe. Impress your friends and family with a beautiful slice of Pear Loaf (without slaving all day in the kitchen) with Mairi’s easy sweet and spicy recipe, made with kombucha- poached pears and all your favourite Christmas spices.

Makes 1 Pear Loaf

Ingredients:

For the pears:

• 2 bottles Spiced Gingerbread Kombucha
• 110g dark brown sugar
• 5 conference pears
• 3 large pieces of orange rind
• 2 cinnamon sticks

For the cake:

• 300g flour
• 150g dark brown sugar
• 100ml rapeseed oil
• 100ml soya milk
• 2 of the reserved poached pears
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt

Method:

To prepare the pears:

1. First poach the pears.
2. Peel the pears leaving the stalks intact.
3. In a small pan combine the sugar, kombucha, cinnamon sticks and orange rind and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add the pears to the pan.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes for ripe pears or 30 minutes if they are firm.
5. Remove the pears from the pan to cool.
6. Continue boiling the liquid until the liquid is reduced by about half and you have a syrupy consistency. You can reserve this to pour over slices of the cake or even to eat with ice cream.

To make the cake:

1. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a mixing bowl.
2. In a small bowl add the vinegar to the soya milk, stir and leave for a minute to curdle.
3. Take two of the poached pears, remove the stalks and core and mash with a fork until you are left with a lumpy pulp.
4. Add the sugar, oil, and milk to the pear pulp and mix well.
5. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together and pour into a large, greased loaf tin.
6. Take the three remaining pears and sit on top of the mixture in the tin, pressing them down slightly.
7. Bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe by Mairi Rivers aka Ginger Vegan