The Second Fruit Recipe; That Makes a Pear*

In case anyone is tempted by the thought of pear puddings, but can't quite face the rigmarole of tart making I'm adding this simple recipe. Like many budding cooks I have a bit of a feeder complex. However, having been brought up by parents who were born in the 50s and loathing the 'throw-away' culture which now prevails, I don't get rid of anything and often find myself with leftovers to make into something new.

So, left with some surplus poached pears from my pear and almond tart, I had the pleasure of making another treat. Normally I would have saved the fruit to chop up on my porridge or stirred it into some Greek yoghurt. However, I was spending Friday evening with some friends and so making something a little more calorific seemed like a better option.**

My friend K is a dazzling antipodean platinum blonde, so what else could I take for my first visit to her fabulous west London flat than blondies. I took the basic recipe from Deb's Smitten Kitchen (loving the one bowl after all the post dinner party washing-up), added plenty of white chocolate and the mashed pears. I found that the pears cut through the sweetness of the cake and provided an interesting texture coupled with the chocolate chunks.

Pear and White Chocolate Blondies

8 tablespoons of butter

1 cup (220g) of brown sugar (I used muscavado)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup (125g) plain flour

pinch of salt

2 poached pears (you don't have to be too exact with this) mashed or pureed

400g white chocolate cut into chunks

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.
   
2. Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan (I actually doubled the recipe*** and used my trusty slide-out brownie pan).
   
3. Melt the butter in the microwave/pan and add the sugar, stirring well.


4. Beat in the egg and the pinch of salt.


5. Fold in the flour to make a smooth batter.


6. Stir in the pear and the white chocolate.


7. Pour the mixture into the pan and cook for 20-25 minutes or until sufficiently fudgy. As with all brownie/blondie creations it's best to be slightly undercooked than, heavens forbid, dry.


8. Enjoy!

* Sorry! I get it from my Dad.

** It's always safer when I know I have to take something somewhere so I can't just slither off too many 'trial' pieces for myself before packing it away.

*** Of course, by doubling the recipe I made sure that when I did want to slither some slices to keep for Saturday night with the Housemate and Strictly Come Dancing I still had plenty to take.