Chocolate, Pear and Pecan Cupcakes

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the lapse in posting, we moved house and were without a functioning fridge or internet for about two weeks. We’re finally starting to settle down, but it has taken a toll on my baking!

This week I made cupcakes by adapting another recipe from Jordan Rondel’s The Caker. She’s going to be publishing a new book later this year, and I’m excited!

You can make this recipe with canned or fresh pears. If using fresh pears, ensure that they’re really ripe and soft. Mine were a bit hard, so I poached them first. You don’t want to bite into a soft cupcake to find crunchy pear! These cupcakes are meant to be coated in ganache, but, alas, I didn’t have any cream. I found this recipe to make ganache without it, and it turned out pretty well!

These cupcakes are soft and flavoursome, with a tasty medley of spicy cinnamon, rich chocolate, crunchy pecans and soft pear. It sounds overwhelming, but it tastes like heaven.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 150g butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla paste
• 3 eggs
• 200g flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup dark chocolate buttons
• 1/2 cup of toasted pecans + extra to top
• 2 pears (either canned or soft fresh pears), cut into 1cm cubes

For the ganache:

• 100ml cream or 25g butter + 60ml milk
• 100g dark chocolate buttons

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to180°C (fan bake).
2. Line muffin tray with 18-20 with cupcake cases.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating between additions.
5. Sift in flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Add milk and mix until just combined.
6. Add chocolate and pecans and stir through gently.
7. Spoon batter into cases. Press a cube of pear into the centre of each cupcake.
8. Bake for about 15 minutes or until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
9. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the ganache:

1. Heat the cream (or milk and butter) in a small saucepan until small bubbles appear.
2. Remove from the heat and add chocolate.
3. Sit for several minutes and then stir until combined.
4. Allow to cool before spooning over the cupcakes and sprinkling with chopped pecans.