The other day I had some ripe pears I really didn’t want to waste. I have never been a big fan of pear desserts, I’d rather have the fresh piece of fruit. I guess there’s always a first time!
I trialed some spiced muffins before and I thought it would be a good combination to revitalise such a bland flavour. So here you go, just for you (and a friend who literally devoured them) my spiced pear muffins.

Feeds 12 muffins

Ingredients

250gr all purpose wholemeal flour
80gr coconut oil
100gr dark Muscovado sugar
400gr pears
2eggs
200gr natural yogurt
2tbs milk
2ts ginger
1ts cinnamon
1ts nutmeg
2ts baking powder

Know-how

Melt the coconut oil and leave to cool. In the meanwhile, finely chop the ginger, peal and dice the pears and put them in a bowl to rest with the cinnamon and nutmeg. For a more accentuated flavour, you could let the pears and spices set in the fridge overnight and use the juice for the glaze. Damn me and my lack of patience!
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar. One thing I realised that Sunday with my grandparents is that we tend to forget about the best tools we all have. So get in there with your hands! Break the sugar into the flour and squeeze that lovely flavour in.
In a third -and last- bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, milk and oil until well combined. Fold together the wet and dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Finally, add the pears.
Bake at 180°C for 25′.

For the glaze

Use 1 table spoon of caster sugar and 2 table spoons of juice (I used Innocent Tropical Juice as it was the only one at hand). Warm up in a pot until the sugar has dissolved, then switch to a higher temperature and let it bubble for 30″. Let cool a minute or two for a firmer consistency.

© Cristina Bertani