Pear Cake with Pine Nuts

It seems like it was just yesterday that we had the last Cooking Light Supper Club! Can it really have been a month?

WOW

Between work, life, travelling, and all of the wonderful things that crop up from time to time the past month has raced by quicker than Christmas vacation.

The theme this time out was selected by Roz - she picked Late Autumn Harvest. My originally recipe was a pear crisp but when I got around to making it  realized that we had just spent the past week finishing off an apple crisp that I made last week - I didn't really jump for joy at the prospect of another!

At the last minute I deciced to make this quick pear cake. This coffee cake has an interesting mix of flavours with the lemon, pears, cinnamon, and pine nuts in a light cake. To make it even bette r- it wasn't that complicated to make. While I enjoy cooking I don't enjoy spending hour sin the kitchen baking fiddly things. this didn't take hours nor was it fiddly - a recipe for success in my baking book!

Pear and Pine Nut Coffee Cake

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
Cooking spray
2 cups thinly sliced peeled pear

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove 1/3 cup flour mixture; place in a small bowl. Stir in pine nuts and cinnamon; set aside.

Combine the remaining flour mixture, sour cream, and the next 6 ingredients (sour cream through egg) in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Pour the batter into a 9-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Arrange the pear slices evenly over the batter. Sprinkle with pine nut mixture. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean; cool completely on a wire rack.

Comments

[bellini]

So glad you introduced us to this cake Jerry. It sounds just perfect for those pears sitting in my fridge!

[Karen (Black Road Journal)]

Pear cake sounds delicious...add pine nuts and I don't think I can resist.

[Lesley]

I am bookmarking this page for the recipe!

[JDeQ]

This was a great cake - easy enough to be a 'brunch coffee cake' but fancy enough to serve as dessert.