Gluten-Free Brown Butter Pecan Pear Loaf with Maple Icing

I’ve never been a fan of pears… something about the gritty texture they have. BUT, I know how moist cakes and loaves are when you bake with a fruit compote or purée. So, I gathered flavours that complimented pears, decided to make the loaf gluten free, and came up with this beauty (this recipe was inspired from Canelle et Vanille’s squash cake.)

It’s the perfect loaf for the autumn/winter months, as the spices used bring warmth, the nuttiness from the browned butter as well as the pecans bring an extra yum and decadence to it and to top it all off, the maple icing adds the perfect finishing touch.

Tip: If you don’t want to make your own pear compote, you can buy unsweetened pear compote from the supermarket. If you can’t find pear compote, you can easily substitute for unsweetened apple compote. Try to go for the least amount of icky ingredients, as natural as possible.

serves: 1 12x26cm loaf

prep/baking/cooling time: 1.5 hours

Pear compote:

5 conference pears, peeled, cored and diced into small pieces

3 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

1. Add all ingredients into a small pot, and put the lid on. Turn the heat up to medium high and let the pears cook until they are soft enough that a knife goes through easily. If the mixture gets too dry, add a splash of water.

2. Blend the pears and liquid together until completely smooth, return the mixture to the pot, and cook out majority of the water. You’ll be left with a thick purée. This can be made at most 3 days in advanced, kept in the fridge.

For the loaf:

1/3 cup (62g) butter

3/4 cup (87g) brown rice flour

1 cup (108g) ground pecans

1/4 cup (27g) tapioca flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup (257g) pear compote

2 tbsp neutral oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup (110g) dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (52g) granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to fan 190°C, and thoroughly grease and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.

2. Add the butter in a pot on medium low heat. Cook the butter, stirring frequently until it starts foaming and the milk solids go from white to brown, the aroma will also change and it’ll smell nutty. Remove from the heat, and pour into a separate bowl to cool down, scrape all the browned bits out too.

3. In a big bowl add all the dry ingredients; brown rice flour, ground pecans, tapioca flour, salt, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and baking soda and baking powder.

4. In another bowl add the cooled brown butter, pear compote, oil, eggs, both sugars and ginger. Whisk until everything is thoroughly incorporated.

5. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until no dry spots are left, and the batter is properly mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the top, and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the loaf cool completely before taking it out of its tin.

For the maple icing:

8 tbsps powdered/icing sugar

4 tbsp Grade B dark maple syrup (you can use a lighter maple syrup but the taste won’t be as intense)

Method:

1. In a bowl, sift the powdered sugar, then add the maple syrup. Stir until no lumps are left and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove the cooled loaf from the tin, and place it on a wire rack. Drizzle the icing on top of the loaf so that it covers the top and drizzles off the sides. Let the icing set for a minimum of 20 minutes before tucking in.