This Toasted Almond Pear Loaf is super moist with delicious warm notes of cinnamon and almond. Finished off with a satisfying crunchy streusel topping.
Perfect for a quick breakfast on the run, great afternoon snack, and even better with a scoop of ice-cream before bed. Anytime is a good time for this one.
We LOVE pears. When they are in season my counter is pilled high with them and we eagerly wait for them to ripen. Which they do; all at the same time. Of course!
Could we eat all these ripe pears in two days? Yes. Should we? no. This leaves me trying to figure out what to do with a dozen ripe pears. So a portion gets frozen to throw into my morning smoothie. And the others get baked! Obviously... Pear and almond just seems like a natural pairing to me, and it's what I happened to have on hand. Could pear and walnut work? For sure. Pear and pecan? Why not. The possibilities are endless.
For the pear quick bread:
* 2 ½ cups pealed & chopped pears (two medium pears)
* 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* ½ teaspoon baking soda
* ½ teaspoon salt
* ½ cup canola, or other neutral, oil
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, RT or melted both work
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 2 large eggs, at room temperature
* ½ teaspoon almond extract
* ¾ cup buttermilk
For the streusel:
* ⅓ cup old-fashioned oats
* ¼ cup brown sugar
* ¼ cup all-purpose flour
* Pinch of ground cinnamon
* 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
* ⅓ cup toasted slivered almonds
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line with parchment paper a 9-by-5 loaf pan.
First make the streusel: In a medium bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients. Add the cubes of cold butter and use a pastry cutter or your hands to work the butter into the other ingredients until the mixture becomes clumpy. Stir in the almonds but set some aside to sprinkle on top right before going into oven.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment beat butter, oil, brown sugar together until smooth (1 min approx.)
Add in eggs one at a time. Scrape down sides.
Add in half the dry ingredients. Followed by the buttercream. Then add the remaining dry ingredients. Don’t over mix!
Fold in the pears with a spatula.
Pour batter into loaf pan and spread into even layer. Top off with streusel and remaining toasted almonds.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (roughly 60 to 65 minutes) If the streusel is getting too dark before the interior is fully baked, tent with foil. Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan before removing from pan.
Enjoy!
