Pear, maple & pecan cupcakes

End of a season & the beginning of a new chapter…

There was a time when I didn’t think much of babies or of children in general. As my younger sister puts it, they’re sticky & smell of sickly citrus. They leave greasy little fingerprints all over the place & they’re honest when any decent person ought not be. As you grow older these annoyances somehow become the most enticing thing about beginning a family. Nowadays, while I’m not quite ready to make a few little bakers of my own, the idea seems a lot more romantic than it once did. 

One of my co workers gave birth to her second child this weekend. It is in the spirit of new life I decided to create some cakes this weekend, cupcakes to be precise. I had a bunch of beurre bosc pears left, they’re approaching the end of their season, words cannot express how much I love these solemn looking fruits. I often say compared to their bright green cousins that they look quite grown up. 

I adapted this recipe slightly to suit my own taste with the addition of organic coconut palm sugar which has a deep caramel flavour & is a great substitute for brown sugar as it has a much lower GI, I love the stuff! This recipe would work equally as well with apples. This recipe is deceptively simple, particularly the cake batter which has a texture not unlike a muffin but looks like a posh little tea cake. 

Pear & pecan cupcakes

(adapted from Woman’s Weekly: Cupcakes, Cheesecakes & Cookies)

 Pear & maple buttercake:

• 230g of grated pear, I used Beurre Bosc
• 60g of good quality butter softened
• 35g self raising flour
• 110g plain flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 a cup organic coconut palm sugar (brown sugar will also do)
• 1/4 cup organic maple syrup
• 2 eggs at room temp
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped pear or…apple

 Pear butterflies:

• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 medium Beurre Bosc pear shaved thinly

 Fondant icing:

• 1 500g packet of fondant chopped coarsely
• 1 egg white
• food colouring

Pear Butterflies: Preheat the oven to 120c. Finely slice your pear using a mandolin if you have one or a very sharp kitchen knife. Prepare a sugar syrup by combining the sugar & water in a small saucepan over medium heat & stirring until sugar is dissolved.Brush the pears on both sides with the sugar syrup & place on a baking tray & dry in the oven for about 40 minutes. To be honest I got a bit impatient with this step & turned up the heat to do it a little faster. My pears were a bit chewy, which might have been a result of my tampering. Finally take the pears out of the oven & pinch down the middle to create the little butterfly shape. I left them to cool hanging on a wire rack. work quickly as they become quite stiff.

 Pecan Maple Cupcakes:Preheat the oven to 170c & line a 12 hole cupcake pan with white paper cases. Drain the fresh pear & remove as much liquid as possible. Beat the butter, sifted flour, cinnamon, sugar, maple syrup and eggs in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer on low until all ingredients are combined & mixture becomes pale. Stir in fresh pear nuts & dried pear. Divide mixture among paper cases keeping in mind you do not want the top to protrude over the top of the case. In fact I only half filled them & I still think that was a little too much. Bake for around 30 minutes & turn onto a wire rack to cool.

 Fondant Icing: Place the fondant in a microwave safe bowl & microwave for around 30-40 seconds until soft & smooth (the original recipe called for faffing about with a double boiler for what seemed the best part of my youth before I gave up & stuck the bowl in the microwave which worked much better) Using a fork quickly stir in the egg white & 1-2 drops of your desired colour, I chose blue for the new baby boy. Smooth over the top of the cupcakes with a hot spatula or butter knife to a nice smooth finish & top each with a pear butterfly.

 Enjoy with friends, family or new mothers…