Spice Pear Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
(Makes 2 dozen cupcakes)

A mild spice blend and the moist, delicate flavor of pears creates a simple, yet delicious dessert. Pick pears that are ripe, but still slightly firm. Mushy pears will disintegrate. You will need 9 ounces of pears (one or two) for this recipe. These little cakes are great with Cream Cheese Frosting, but also try them with Chocolate Ganache for an interesting combination. (See Recipe Page)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup plain yogurt, divided (you may use low-fat yogurt)
3 whole eggs, graded large
1/4 cup mild flavored honey
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh anjou pear, in 1/4-inch dice (peel and dice before measuring)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and adjust the racks so there is onein the center of the oven. Line 2 standard size cupcake pans with cupcake liners (there will be 24 wells). Set up your mise en place. (See the Baking Hints section of this web site.)

Place the butter, brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon of the yogurt (reserve the rest of the yogurt) in a mixing bowl and cream them on medium high speed for 5 to7 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy, smooth, and light in color. Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed for 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the bowl and add the honey, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and salt. Beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl again and add half of the flour, beating on low speed until the mixture is evenly blended, about 30 seconds. Add all of the remaining yogurt and beat on medium low speed for 30-45 seconds. Scrape the bowl, add the remaining flour, and beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl well, giving the batter a few stirs to be sure it is evenly mixed. Add the diced pear and stir gently until evenly blended.

Divide the batter evenly into the lined cupcake wells. [If you only have one cupcake pan (with 12 wells) you should measure the cupcake batter and use exactly half of it to fill the wells, then bake them, remove them from the pan, cool the pan, and repeat the lining, filling and baking process.]

Bake the cupcakes one pan at a time on the center rack in the preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes, reversing the pan halfway through the baking time. The cupcakes will be done when a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and place the pans on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pans and place them on the wire racks to finish cooling. Do not frost the cupcakes until they are completely cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes about 2 cups.

When you want a soft, creamy frosting that isn’t too sweet, this is a great recipe to use. The white chocolate gives it body, and the superfine sugar dissolves readily. The frosting stays soft and creamy and doesn’t harden at room temperature. If you decide to refrigerate a cake or cupcakes decorated with this, let it set out for 30 minutes before serving it so the frosting will again become soft. Be sure to use white chocolate that is made with cocoa butter and not hydrogenated fat.

3 ounces excellent quality white chocolate, chopped into little bits
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons superfine sugar
pinch salt

Set up your mise en place.  (See Baking Hints.) 

Boil a quart of water. Place the white chocolate in a heat-resistant small bowl, and place the small bowl into the larger one. Add enough of the boiling water to come up about 3/4 of the way on the sides of the small bowl. Make sure that no water, not even one drop, gets into the chocolate during the melting process. Leave the bowl in the hot water, stirring gently with a small whisk or fork, until most of the chocolate is melted, about five minutes. Check every few minutes, stirring each time until all of the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. The smaller the chocolate pieces are, the quicker this will happen.

While the chocolate is melting, beat the cream cheese and butter at medium high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and salt and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds to combine evenly. When the chocolate his ready, add it to the cream cheese mixture, beating on medium speed for a minute or so, until the frosting is evenly mixed.

You can make this frosting up to 3 days ahead, stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

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