Paonia Pear Gingerbread

Pear Gingerbread
adapted from Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup black strap molasses
1/4 cup cane syrup or honey
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (or some plain yogurt thinned out with milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup finely chopped MM Local Paonia Pears

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter an 11 x 7 cake pan and set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar together. Once they well integrated, add molasses, cane syrup, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract and grated ginger. Mix to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and allspice.

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix to combine. Once they are well integrated, fold in the chopped pears.

Scrape batter into the buttered baking dish and bake for 25-35 minutes. It is done when the edges pull away from the corners of the pan and a tester comes out mostly clean.

Let cool just until it is warm enough to handle and cut yourself a slice. Gingerbread is good just about any way you slice it, but is SO good when eaten warm.