Dave got a bucket of pears in partial trade for some work. The trouble with pears is that you must do something with them or else it quickly becomes too late! Pear sauce and pear pie have been on our table in the past, but, as pears go, this was the mother load. What to do? Well, both of the above plus some Pear Nut Bread. I seem to be on a fruit bread kick this fall.
This recipe makes two loaves. First peel, core and chop about six pears. 1/2” +/- cubes are good. This seems like a lot but don’t worry.
Next measure and sift the following. 5 cups flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 4 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp soda, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger and a 1/2 tsp nutmeg.
Melt a cup of butter in the microwave and add to dry goods with 1 tsp vanilla and three eggs (lightly beaten). Mix well - batter will be stiff. Add pears and 1/3 to 1 cup of chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds or pecans) and mix. As the pears juice up it will become easier, but you will probably also want to gradually add a little milk - 1/4 cup or 1/2 if necessary.
Divide batter between two greased loaf pans. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake at 325 for 1 hour to 1 hour and fifteen minutes. Should be brown and crunchy on top and pulling away from the sides of the pan. Do the toothpick test but remember there are lots of pear chunks in there so try a couple different spots.
This bread doesn’t last long either way. People will eat it right up or it won’t be good more than a couple days. All those wet pears tend to make the cake go by really fast. Wrapping it and storing it in the fridge helps, but I never tried freezing it.