Small Fresh Pear Loaves

My inspiration for these loaves comes from the bakers at London’s Honey & Co and their peach, vanilla and fennel seed mini loaves.

I reached for my electric hand-held beater to make these, or you could beat the mixture by hand.

Makes 8

2 firm but ripe pears

1 lemon for squeezing

125g butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

3 large eggs

125g mascarpone

1 tsp vanilla paste

1 ½ cups plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

Finely grated zest of 1 large orange

1 Heat the oven to 190C. Grease and line eight small loaf tins with baking paper, leaving the paper to overhang a little to allow for ease of removing cooked loaves.

2 Slice two “cheeks” off each pear for the top of each loaf. Cut the remaining fruit into small dice. Squeeze over a little lemon juice to prevent browning.

3 Beat the softened butter and sugar together until it combines in a ball — we are not creaming the mixture here. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.

4 Add the mascarpone and vanilla paste and beat on low until just combined. Sift over the flour, baking powder and salt and beat on low to just combine.

5 Using a spatula, fold in the orange zest and the diced pear. Divide the mixture between the prepared loaf tins. Slice the pear "cheeks" and place 2-3 slices on the top of each. Sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar.

6 Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

7 Eat warm or store, once cooled, in an airtight container.