Today is reason to celebrate my friends!!! Sunday Supper is TWO years old. I have been cooking and baking with this fabulous group for over a year and a half and it’s been wonderful! This group challenges me, encourages me and hey, since we’re all food bloggers, we understand each other.
TWO years is something to celebrate. . so I wanted to bring something special to the table.
When I saw this bread in my Jan/Feb 2014 issue of Cooking Light magazine, I knew exactly what I wanted to bake and this was it. But I didn’t use just any ole bread mix, or even the Maple-Stout Quick Bread recipe that Cooking Light suggested (although I am totally trying this next time), I made an olive oil lemon mix. Cake, bread, call it what you want.
This Poached Pear Olive Oil Bread is the bomb.
The sweet, tender pears paired with the flavorful olive oil cake is perfection. And if you’ve never tried an olive oil cake, the olive oil is very subtle and delicious. But you must use a good quality, good tasting olive oil for this. I used CA Olive Ranch’s everyday extra virgin olive oil and I have also used Trader Joe’s Imported Olive Oil (packed in Italy) for olive oil cake, here and here. The awesome thing about this recipe, there’s a video. Watch this before you bake and here are my step-by-step photos and TIPS as well.
Bring 4 cups water and granulated sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the pears; reduce the heat to medium, and cook at a medium-low boil for 5 minutes or just until the pears start to soften.
Remove the pears from the pan; cool slightly. Trim the bottom off of each pear so that it is about the height of a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan. Place your pears in or next to your baking pan so you know approximately how much to cut off.
Arrange the pears in the direction and order you want ahead of time.
Lightly brush some flour over the bottom 2/3rds of each pear. I probably should have brushed on more flour here and this is probably why my olive oil batter did not adhere completely to my middle pear while baking.
Spray your baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Now, for this next step you can either place your pears in the baking pan and pour in the batter like I did OR you can pour in the batter first and then arrange the pears in the baking pan, pressing them into batter.
VERY IMPORTANT: Remember, your batter will rise so make sure you don’t pour too much batter in the baking dish. With the recipe card below, you are fine to pour in all of the olive oil bread batter. Even though it may appear that I have too much batter, none of it overflowed when baking. It will depend on what bread recipe you use, your ingredients and the size of your baking loaf pan so just watch it and be careful not to pour in too much. If you are concerned that the batter will overflow while baking, discard a 1/4 – 1/2 cup of the batter.
Bake at 350° for about 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes in pan on a wire rack. I always like to take a butter knife and run it around the edges of the loaf to loosen the bread and help it to fall out of the pan easier. Carefully remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack, slice and serve immediately. Enjoy!
I did get a little crackage with my Olive Oil Bread but it still tasted fabulous! Slice and serve immediately! yum!!
This was the other end of my bread. . I think the pears are so beautiful and since each one is shaped differently. . it makes the bread look all the more unique and gorgeous!
Poached Pear Olive Oil Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 small whole Bosc pears
- 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour for brushing on the pears
For the olive oil batter:
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup extra-virgin good tasting olive oil
- ⅓ cup melted unsalted butter
- Finely grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- non-stick baking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Bring 4 cups water and granulated sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the pears; reduce heat to medium, and cook at a medium-low boil for 5 minutes or just until pears start to soften. Remove pears from pan; cool slightly. Trim the bottom off of each pear so that it is about the height of a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan. Lightly brush flour over the bottom 2/3rds of each pear.
For the olive oil bread:
- Using your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs and sugar and beat on high speed for about 3 minutes. Drizzle in the olive oil and melted butter and continue to mix. Fold in the lemon zest and juice.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet egg mixture and mix until evenly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if needed.
- Spray your baking pan with non-stick baking spray. Arrange your pears (brushed with the flour) in the baking loaf pan and carefully pour in the batter.
- Bake at 350° for about 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool for about 20 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Carefully remove from pan and allow to cool completely on wire rack. Slice and serve immediately.
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light.
We’re celebrating TWO years! Woot woot!!! I have so many fun memories and so many themes that I loved. I love that SundaySupper challenges me to cook or make something I may have never even thought of. I love reading everyone’s stories, posts and recipes each Sunday.
One of my favorite moments this past year with Sunday Supper was our Thanksgiving Day Sunday, where we all said what we were thankful for. The stories that were shared were so touching and meaningful. Another favorite thing was being a part of the American Family Insurance “Back To The Family Dinner Table” Sunday Supper and having our recipes included in their e-cookbook. You can download the cookbook here. It’s FREE. And my Veggie Mac and Cheese is in there! It’s just a small cookbook but it’s cool seeing our recipes there and I absolutely love what the cookbook stands for. Getting families back to the dinner table. Sitting down, reconnecting as a family and eating together. That’s what it’s all about.
I also loved the Desserts In Jars Sunday Supper. I think these photos say it all.
The lovely Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake is hosting today! I had the pleasure of meeting Liz at IFBC and Nancy from Gotta Get Baked. Liz bakes the most gorgeous desserts, cakes, pies, tarts. . you name it. I am always in awe of her recipes and photography. And she is the sweetest person!
So, without further ado. . Happy TWO years, Sunday Supper!! Let’s see what everyone is bringing to the table!
Brilliant Breads and Breakfast Fare:
- Brioche aux Pépites de Chocolat from Food Lust People Love
- Broccoli, Potato & Cheese Egg Cups from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
- Celebration Strawberry Crepes from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
- Homemade Brioche from Masala Herb
- Onion Cheddar Cheese Focaccia from Flour On My Face
- Poached Pear Bread from Hip Foodie Mom
Amazing Appetizers and Cocktails:
- Blood Orange Gin Fizz from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Blue Cheese Walnut Tarts from Magnolia Days
- Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Stuffed Butternut Squash from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
- Cheesy Twists from What Smells So Good?
- Key Lime Pie Martini from girlichef
- Pizza Dip from The Food Army Wife
- Slow Cooker Party Mix from Hot Momma’s Kitchen Chaos
Spectacular Soups and Salads:
- Creamy, Tangy Bacon Salad Dressing from Daily Dish Recipes
- Day at the Beach Healthy Tuna Salad from Shockingly Delicious
- Low Carb Spicy Chunky Vegetable Beef Chili from Yours and Mine Are Ours
- Luscious Fruit Salad from Pescetarian Journal
- Quinoa and Buffalo Chicken Salad from In the Kitchen with KP
Enticing Entrees:
- Carne de Porco Alentejana | Portuguese Pork and Clams from Family Foodie
- Chicken Shami Kebab from Soni’s Food
- Chicken and Rice Dinner in the Crock from Momma’s Meals
- Curried Chicken from The Foodie Patootie
- Healthy Chicken Tetrazzini from Citronlimette
- Imagination Stew from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Orecchiette with Chicken, Brocccoli, Mushrooms and Onions from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
- Runny Egg Risotto from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
- Sautéed Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce plus Arugula, Radicchio and Escarole Salad from Crazy Foodie Stunts
- Seafood Stew from Healthy. Delicious.
- Spice-Crusted Fish Tacos with Confetti Salsa from The Weekend Gourmet
- Spicy Roasted Squash and Wild Rice Bake from Curious Cuisiniere
- Spicy Shrimp Tempura Rolls from kimchi MOM
- Spinach Proscuitto Macaroni and Cheese with Walnut Topping from Noshing with the Nolands
- Tuscan Chicken Spinach Soup with Roasted Red Pepper from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
Decadent Desserts:
- Azuki Red Bean Ice Cream from The Ninja Baker
- Banana Pudding Parfaits from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Birthday Cake Macaron from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Caramel Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars from Pies and Pots
- Chocolate Mousse Torte from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Cinnamon Sugar Churros and Chocolate Sauce from Neighborfood
- Crumb Cake Brownies from Table for Seven
- Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Pops from Ruffles & Truffles
- Gluten-Free Epiphany Cake from Happy Baking Days
- Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Cookies by Killer Bunnies, Inc
- Happy Birthday Cake Batter Truffles from Take A Bite Out of Boca
- Kahlua Toffee Ice Cream Cake from Webicurean
- Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake with Raspberry Sauce from Peanut Butter and Peppers
- Pineapple Coconut Cupcakes from Basic N Delicious
- S’mores Snack Cake from Alida’s Kitchen
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter today! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm EST. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.
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