Pear and cardamom loaf with pear and elderflower tea

This pear and cardamom loaf is a fragrant, moist loaf cake infused with the delicate flavors of pear and elderflower tea. Topped with a buttery crumble and a sweet honey glaze, each slice is soft, aromatic, and perfect for pairing with your favorite hot beverage. Ideal for brunch, tea-time, or as a delightful homemade gift, this tea-infused pear loaf is a comforting treat for any occasion.
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Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

Crumble

  • ½ cup flour
  • 4 tbsp cold brown butter evenly cubed into small pieces
  • ¼ cup light brown
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Pear loaf

  • 1 ⅓- 1 ½ cup finely chopped pears about 1-2 pears depending on the size
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup neutral baking oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • ⅓ c buttermilk
  • 2 tsp strong brewed LMC pear and elderflower tea
  • 1 bag LMC pear and elderflower tea torn

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
  • 4 tbsp brown butter melted
  • ½ tsp strong brewed LMC pear and elderflower tea
  • 4 tablespoon honey

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 180℃. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving excess along the longer sides of the pan. This helps with removal once the loaf has baked. Set aside.
  • If making your own buttermilk, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the ⅓ c whole milk now. It needs about 10 minutes to curdle
  • Whisk together the dry ingredients for the crumble topping in a small mixing bowl. Work in the cubes of butter until the mixture comes together. The mixture should resemble coarse pieces of sand, with some larger pieces mixed in. Set the bowl in the fridge to chill while preparing the loaf cake.
  • In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, tea leaves and salt. Set aside.
  • Beat together the oil and sugar until smooth and well combined.
  • Add eggs and brewed tea, beating each egg for about 20 seconds before adding the next.
  • Stir in the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet, alternating in this order: dry, buttermilk, dry, buttermilk, dry. Leave a few flour or milk streaks before adding the next .
  • Gently fold pears into the batter. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top of the batter.
  • Top the batter with the chilled topping. Gently press into the cake batter.
  • Bake at 180℃ for 50-60 minutes. Around 40 minutes, do the first check of the cake. Check to make sure the top isn’t burning. If the top is browning too much, place a tent foil over the top for the remainder of the time.
  • Bake an additional 10 minutes before checking for doneness. The edges of the cake will have pulled slightly from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
  • If the toothpick comes out wet bake for 10-20 minutes. Check every 5-10 until done.
  • Remove the loaf cake from the oven to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes.
  • To make the glaze, mix together ingredients. Add 1 teaspoon honey at a time until desired consistency is reached.
  • Once the cake has cooled in the pan, gently loosen the unlined edges with a butter knife. Using the parchment overhang, remove the cake from the pan.
  • Pour over the glaze and enjoy

Notes

I added the crumble after 10 minutes of baking to ensure that it bakes into the loaf, but not brown and burn
You can buy the LMC pear and elderflower tea here