https://homeiswheretheboatis.net/2014/01/29/novel-baking-cardamom-cake-with-whole-pears/
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Makes 1 loaf cake (8-10 servings)
Ingredients
For the Pears:
3 medium-sized crisp, Bosc pears, peeled but whole, with the stem left on (Bosc pears hold their shape with the poaching and baking time, I could only find large ones)
1 (750-ml) bottle dry white wine
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 cloves
3 star anise pods
8 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
For the Cake:
14 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks plus 2 tbsp) softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 generous tbsp ground cardamom
pinch of salt
If desired:
*3 oz white chocolate, in chunks (*I dusted with powdered sugar instead of using white chocolate)
Preparation:
Poach the pears: In a large saucepan, combine the pears, wine, sugar, cloves, star anise, cardamom, and cinnamon and poach for 30 minutes over low heat.
Take the pears out of the liquid and set aside to cool. Add 2 1/2 cups (500 ml) water to the poaching liquid and boil to reduce the liquid by half. Let cool.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper.
Using a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in the eggs one at the time. Don’t add a new egg until the previous one is incorporated. Sift the flour, cardamom, and salt over the batter and fold it in.
Spoon the batter into the pan.
Press the pears in the batter, stem end up.
Tip: Cut off the bottoms off the cooled pears before adding them to the batter so they are flat, and don’t tilt during baking time.
Bake for *40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake part comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan, then gently remove the cake from the pan to a rack to cool completely. (*My cake took closer to 55 minutes to bake. Tent with foil during last 10 minutes or so of baking time to prevent over browning.)
*Very carefully melt the chocolate:
Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir the chocolate in the bowl until melted. Using a spoon, drizzle the chocolate over the cake and create nice stripes on top. *(I skipped this step and dusted with powdered sugar instead).
Let the chocolate dry for a bit and serve the cake in thick slices, with the reduced pear syrup.
For a Sparkling Spiced Pear Cocktail, use the reduced pear syrup to mix with the sparkling wine of your choice. Add sliced pears to the glass for garnish. Cheers!