We have been loving pears lately! I’m not usually a fan of winter fruit but am trying to make the most of whatever fruit is in season. At the moment bub is loving munching away on pears so I’m finding that I’m buying more pears than I ever have before! I’m actually happy about it because pears are a nice alternative to apples and are loaded with great digestive properties and lots of fibre. I discovered these unique piqu pears and developed a recipe for a client. I’d never seen little pears like this before with a deep reddish orange skin. They are very pretty, was hard to use them up in the recipe but I really loved them. The pears had some pretty strong tropical vibes, when I cut them open I actually thought they smelled like pear mixed with pineapple. You can, of course, use any pear you like for this recipe and it will turn out amazing. I do suggest a softer pear to make it easier for the blender to blend up.
To be perfectly honest I was afraid this recipe would be a total flop! I decided to go ahead and use a raw pear puree instead of cooking down the pears to make a pear sauce and I wasn’t sure if it would work to bind the mixture together. I love that it worked because I’m never doing it another way again! It was so much quicker to just peel and core some pears and pop them in the blender than to cook them down. The batter also turned out very runny but because I was loosely following another recipe from go dairy free.org I decided to just go with it and see what happens. To my surprise, it all worked out! It didn’t have a huge rise but really great texture and awesome flavour. I used fibre rich psyllium husk as a binder and egg replacer in this recipe. I’m still not sure how it works so well, especially since I only put one little teaspoon but it does! It has become my favourite egg replacer of the moment.
That’s all I’m saying for this recipe, it’s a delicious treat that could easily be turned into muffins as well and is great for a light breakfast, snack or dessert. Wonderful and warming for the cool winter months too. This recipe is low gluten, dairy-free and refined sugar-free.
| Vegan Spiced Pear Loaf | Print |
- 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp psyllium husk
- pinch salt
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup raw pear puree
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- Begin by coring your pears (1 large pear makes about 1 cup or 2 smaller pears). Place pears into a high-speed blender and blend until puree forms. Set aside.
- In a large bowl sift together the spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda allspice and salt.
- Add the psyllium husk and mix through
- In a separate bowl mix together the oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and pear puree.
- Pour the wet pear mixture over the dry flour mixture and mix to combine. The mixture will be fairly runny. Mix in chopped walnuts or any other add ins that you like.
- Transfer mixture to a loaf tin, decorate with toppings of choice, I used pumpkin seeds and rolled oats and bake at 180 C for 30 - 40 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool, slice and enjoy
