Do you ever find yourself with pears that are starting to go bad? Use them in this lightly sweet pear bread topped with cardamom crumble!

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I have a terrible habit of buying fruit to have as an afternoon snack and then forgetting all about it and leaving it on the counter every morning. By the end of the week it’s brown and bruised and I’m lucky if I actually ate any of it at all.

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A while back I was about to throw out a particularly sad looking bunch of pears, when I started to feel guilty about wasting so much food. For a second, I wished i had bought bananas so I could throw them into the freezer for smoothies or bread. Then I decided to see what would happen if I tried to make a quick bread with pears instead of bananas.

The result was spectacular!

The bread is tender and cake-like, with the subtly floral flavor of pears in every bite. It’s crowned with a crisp crumb topping scented with spicy cardamom, and it’s completely addictive.

I’ve made it three times now, and it’s so good that I don’t always want to wait for the pears to soften. The bread is still tasty if you use firm pears, but the texture is better is you let them get a little soft first.

Now, what should I do with that bag of grapefruit that I impulse bought last week?

Pear Cardamom Quick Bread

Name: Pear Cardamom Quick Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 24
Ingredients: 3 very ripe bBartlett or D'Anjou pears/b; 1 2/3 cups bsugar/b; 2/3 cup bcoconut oil/b (liquid); 2 teaspoons bvanilla/b; 4 beggs/b; 3 cups bGold Medal® all purpose flour/b; 2 teaspoons bbaking soda/b; 1 teaspoon bsalt/b; 1/4 cup bGold Medal® all purpose flour/b; 1/4 cup bbrown sugar/b; 1/2 teaspoon bground cardamom/b; 2 tablespoons bcold butter/b

Yield: 24

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

3 very ripe [b]Bartlett or D'Anjou pears[/b]
1 2/3 cups [b]sugar[/b]
2/3 cup [b]coconut oil[/b] (liquid)
2 teaspoons [b]vanilla[/b]
4 [b]eggs[/b]
3 cups [b]Gold Medal® all purpose flour[/b]
2 teaspoons [b]baking soda[/b]
1 teaspoon [b]salt[/b]

For the crumb topping

1/4 cup [b]Gold Medal® all purpose flour[/b]
1/4 cup [b]brown sugar[/b]
1/2 teaspoon [b]ground cardamom[/b]
2 tablespoons [b]cold butter[/b]

Instructions

Heat oven to 350ºF. Line two 8-inch loaf pans with foil.
Shred the pears on the coarse side of a box grated, discarding the stem and core. Gently squeeze the shredded pears and pour off any excess juice.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded pears, sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
In a second bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the pear mixture; stir to combine. Pout the batter into the prepared loaf pans.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup flour, brown sugar, and cardamom. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles wet sand. Sprinkle the crumb topping in an even layer over the top of the breads.
Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition Information

Amount Per Serving Calories 200 Total Fat 8g Fiber 1.3g Protein 2.8g

Comments

Kirsten says
06/07 at 10:01 am

Pears are a feast or famine thing around here–I love it when my neighbor-with-a-pear-tree gives me a big bag . . . until I’m staring at that big bag and wondering what the heck I’m gonna do with all those pears! Pear butter, pear chutney will put up some of it, sure. But this looks wonderful. And I love cardamom from my time in Finland so I know it tastes terrific.
Thanks, Lauren!

Jen says
04/09 at 11:33 am

can I use canola oil instead of coconut? Never used coconut oil and I’m the only family member that likes coconut. Will you taste it in the bread?

- Lauren says
  04/09 at 11:37 am
  
  Canola or vegetable oil should be fine, but you can’t taste the coconut in the bread at all.
  
Nicole, RD says
04/07 at 10:22 pm

I concur, cardamom + pear is divine…and what’s not to love about quick breads? The best. Can’t wait to make this 🙂

Rebecca {foodie with family} says
04/07 at 10:10 am

I do the same thing, Lauren. I walk into Wegman’s and I’m like Julie Andrews on the mountain top in the Sound of Music, tossing fruits into my cart and thinking, “I can TOTALLY eat all of this!” I LOVE the idea of a quick bread to use up fruit and you KNOW how I feel about cardamom! TOTAL WIN.

Julie @ Willow Bird Baking says
04/07 at 9:49 am

Pear and cardamom sound like a delicious combination.

Renee's Kitchen Adventures says
04/04 at 9:02 am

I love pear bread and have actually made it from canned pears as well! Not a huge fan of cardamom, so I’d sub cinnamon, but I agree, pears make great quick bread!! The crumble looks yummy!

Joanne says
04/02 at 10:26 pm

I wonder if I can do this same thing with mangoes…I have some on my counter that are a bit past their prime! Great idea!

Susan says
04/02 at 5:44 pm

I might have to make that if they give us pears again this week for my CSA pickup! For the grapefruits? Make curd!

Carol at Wild Goose Te says
04/02 at 4:24 pm

I have an Asian pear tree that I always get way too many pears. My latest new favorite spice is cardamom. I think we have a MATCH. I can’t believe how beautiful your loaf turned out. I have never had a loaf of quick bread look so stately.

Ginny McMeans says
04/02 at 12:23 pm

This a very very unusual and wonderful mixture. Thanks so much!

Nutmeg Nanny says
04/02 at 9:10 am

Pear and cardamom go together so well. This bread looks heavenly and that crunchy topping is totally calling my name.

Ingredients

For the crumb topping

Instructions

Nutrition Information

Comments

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