Pear & Raspberry Mini-Cakes

I’m not very good at baking.  I admit it.  I just don’t have the patience to measure everything out exactly to guarantee the results.  I like to experiment and try new things, but in my experience, baking doesn’t lend itself to that very well.  Recently, I discovered I was wrong.  There are so many people out there who do experimental baking really well – among my favorites to follow in the blogosphere are La Tartine Gourmande, Bake & Destroy and Cannelle & Vanille (among others).  These cakes were inspired directly from a recipe for an apple cranberry cake by Béa at La Tartine Gourmande.  I didn’t have apples on hand, nor do I actually own the right sized cake pan to make the tasty-looking cakes.  Nevermind though, I am turning over a new leaf and starting to experiment with my baking!  I made mini-cakes in a muffin pan and used some pears and raspberries that I had on hand.  They turned out great!

Pear & Raspberry Mini-Cakes
Ingredients:
1 tsp. baking powder
8 Tbs. flour
3 pears, peeled and cored
1 container of raspberries
3 eggs
1/3 cup + 1 Tbs. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

To Make:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, sift together baking powder and flour.  Set aside.  Dice pears into 1/4 in. pieces.  In a large bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar and salt together until light.  Mix in butter and flour mixture.  Next, stir in pears until just combined.  Line muffin pan with cupcake papers.  Pour in mixture to each muffin cup and top with raspberries.  Bake for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Yield:
8 mini-cakes 

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