Pear & Cinnamon Cake

I bought a beautiful cookbook called Love Bake Nourish by Amber Rose while I was traveling in London a couple months ago.  This weekend, I finally got a chance to make one of her recipes.  While searching for the perfect fall treat for my brunch, I found her pear and cinnamon cake and knew it would be perfect.  She uses honey and maple syrup in place of granulated sugar, and hearty flours in place of all-purpose.  For this recipe, I used a cinnamon infused maple syrup that I found at Williams-Sonoma.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but this cake turned out delicious.  It wasn't too sweet, which I prefer, and it was very moist and dense.  I served it with yogurt and blackberries.  It was a perfect addition to a fall brunch.

Pear & Cinnamon Cake

[ by Amber Rose, Love Bake Nourish ]

200g unsalted butter, softened

200g white spelt four, sifted

3 large free-range eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

200g maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pear peeled, cored & finely grated

unrefined icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a cake tin.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until pale and fluffy.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of flour and beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Continue to beat until you have a light fluffy mixture.  Fold in the rest of the flour, the baking powder and cinnamon.  Then add the maple syrup, vanilla extract and pear, folding in gently until thoroughly combined

Scape the mixture into your prepared cake tin and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before turning out of the tin.