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Double Pear Pound Cake

cakes, fruits

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped plump dried pears; (1/2-inch chunks)
1/4 cup pear eau-de-vie or pear brandy
1 cup unsalted butter; softened
3 cups granulated sugar
1 plump vanilla bean; seeds scraped out
6 large eggs; at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; scant
1 cup full-fat sour cream
1 large ripe pear, Bartlett or Anjou; peeled, chunked (1/2-in)

A lovely, moist pound cake studded with golden bits of chewy dried pear and heady with the flavour of vanilla. The night before you plan to make the cake, chop dried pears and place in a small nonreactive bowl. Pour pear eau-de-vie over pieces and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Let fruit stand at room temperature overnight or for up to 36 hours. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 10-inch aluminum (not nonstick) tube pan. Dust insides with flour. Tap out excess flour and set pan aside. In a bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter on medium speed until creamy and light. Gradually beat in sugar and continue to cream mixture until it is very fluffy and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla seeds. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Into a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add this mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream in 2 additions. When adding flour, mix slowly and gently, just until each addition is incorporated. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl frequently to make sure no pockets of flour or sour cream are left in the batter. When the last addition of flour is almost incorporated, use a large rubber spatula to gently fold in the dried pear pieces and their soaking liquid and the fresh pear chunks. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Place pan in the centre of oven and bake for 70 to 85 minutes, turning cake several times during baking to ensure it bakes evenly, until cake has risen and is golden, the top springs back when lightly touched and a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool cake for 10 minutes in its pan, then invert onto a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before serving or wrapping and storing. This cake is best within a day or 2 of baking but will keep for at least 3 to 4 days, well wrapped at room temperature, and 5 to 6 days if refrigerated. It also - Freezes beautifully: Wrap securely in plastic and then in aluminum foil or a - Freezer bag and thaw at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours without disturbing the wrappings.

Contributor: President's Choice Magazine - November, 1998

Yield: 12 to 16 servin

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