Saffron Cake with pears
Across Scandinavia in December you will likely be offered a saffron-flavoured Lucia bun in honour of the Feast of St Lucia. We also make this beautiful, light saffron cake with pears – it’s a perfect autumn and winter cake with warm flavours.
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 30 g breadcrumbs
- 50 g butter
- 100 ml whole milk
- ½ g ground saffron
- 2 large pears or 3 small
- a little lemon juice
- 325 g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 300 g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp of salt
- 50 g Greek yoghurt
- icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.
- Grease a 25cm bundt pan or ring pan and dust it with the breadcrumbs, tipping out the excess.
- Melt the butter and add the milk and ground saffron. Stir to combine and set aside to infuse.
- Peel and core the pears and cut into bite-sized chunks. Add a dash of lemon juice, stir and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until thick, light and fluffy using a balloon whisk or a hand-held electric whisk.
- Mix the remaining dry ingredients together and sift into the egg mixture. Fold in until incorporated.
- Add the Greek yoghurt and saffron-milk mixture and fold gently until completely combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Add the pieces of pear – these will sink down during baking.
- Bake for around 30–35 minutes in the preheated oven or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the pan before turning out onto a serving tray. Dust with icing sugar and serve, sliced, with a good dollop of whipped cream.
Video
https://youtube.com/watch?v=SVxAW-b-_2M
