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Published on by Helen Best-Shaw 27 Comments
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Enjoy this blackberry and pear traybake and use up unripe windfall fruit; it’s perfect for picnics.
Perfect Pears
The window of pear perfection when the fruit is at its peak of juicy ripeness and fullest flavour is fleeting. A perfectly ripe pear is one of the pleasures of the English summer, best eaten outside with its soft delicious flesh dripping with juice.
It seems that the pear turns from an unripe solid and sour to a woolly browning mush, flecked with gritty stone cells in a matter of hours. If those are the sort of pears you have, you need to eat them the second you find they are fully ripe.
Blackberry and Pear Traybake
The grass in the orchard was scattered with windfalls; casualties of the breeze and still rock hard. These fruit do not always ripen, they quickly go brown where they bruised on their descent from the tree. I’d also gathered a few blackberries from the hedge, which although ripe, were lacking the sweetness that a few more weeks of late summer sun would have brought.
These unyielding unripe windfalls are fantastic for cooking, so I decided to bake. Baking softens the pears, yet they still have some shape and texture. A riper fruit, on the other hand, would turn to mush. Cooking also sweetened my blackberries, which coupled with the pears as well as the more traditional apple.
There is something rather satisfying about cooking with foraged and gathered foods, so I am especially pleased with this recipe. This blackberry and pear traybake is perfect for tea after gathering in your harvest. Serve it with a little whipped cream to make it more special.
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Recipe: Blackberry & Pear Traybake
Simple and fresh traybake
Servings: 16 squares
Author: Helen Best-Shaw
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time35 minutes mins
Total Time45 minutes mins
Ingredients
- 110 g butter (or baking margarine – softened)
- 125 g soft light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 190 g self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch mixed spice
- 2 tbs milk
- 1 unripe pear – peeled (cored and thinly sliced)
- Handful blackberries
- 1 tbs demerara sugar
Instructions
Grease and line a 20cm square baking tin with silicone paper. Preheat the oven to GM4 / 180C (10C less for fan).
Using an electric mixer mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla with a tsp of flour to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Gently mix in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice, adding milk to loosen the mixture so it can be dolloped from a spoon and easily spread.
Spread 2/3 of the mixture into the prepared tin, arrange the pear slices on top and scatter the blackberries over, gently pressing into the cake batter in the gaps between the pear slices.
Cover the fruit with the remains of the cake batter.
Sprinkle the demerara sugar over and bake for 30 – 35 minutes until risen and golden brown, and when a co*cktail stick poked into the cake comes out clean.
Delicious served warm with whipped cream.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.
Nutrition Facts
Recipe: Blackberry & Pear Traybake
Amount Per Serving (16 squares)
Calories 141Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 35mg12%
Sodium 58mg3%
Potassium 66mg2%
Carbohydrates 19g6%
Sugar 9g10%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 200IU4%
Vitamin C 0.5mg1%
Calcium 23mg2%
Iron 0.3mg2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Baked Goods
Cuisine: British
Keyword: blackberry and pear traybake, traybake
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Anneli (Delicieux)
What a great way to use up your pears like that. Very satisfying, I know what you mean! This tray bake looks delicious and I bet is just lovely with a cuppa. The pinch of mixed spice in there must be lovely.Reply
Helen
Thanks Anneli,
We did rather enjoy it and it did not last very long at all. Hence why the photo only shows 4 pieces!
the caked crusader
I love this time of year – when there’s so much good fruit about. Pear is one of my favourites to bake with and your cake looks divineReply
Helen
Thank you. I think this is a bake I’ll be repeating.
Reply
Steph B
This looks delicious, thanks for posting! Do you think it matter what sort of pears are used? I think our tree has conference pears but they never ripen properly and there’s only 6 this year anyway.Reply
Helen
I think that any sort of pear will do, as long as they are still fairly solid.
Reply
Jane English
Looks scrumptious! So easy to make too. Thanks for another lovely recipe.Reply
Helen
Thanks Jane, it did not last long!
Reply
anna @ annamayeveryday
This looks lovely, we have lots of blackberries around so I will try it. Finding ripe pears is always another matter.. !Reply
Helen
Hi Anna,
Thanks for commenting, the beauty of this is that it does not need a ripe pear!
Reply
Lynn
Oh, that looks good. I’ve used up all my fruit for jam, will have to go hunting for more!Reply
Elizabeth
This looks absolutely superb! I am slightly envious that you have a pear orchard and blackberries in your hedge though! :) Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe with Credit Crunch MunchReply
Jacqueline
Ohhhhhh! I’m liking the sound and look of this one Helen.Reply
Mindy
I have so many frozen blackberries left over from this summer! This sounds like a great way to use some up!!
Reply
Helen
absolutely. I’d love a freezer full of blackberries.
Reply
Vicky @ Avocado Pesto
This looks delicious! I absolutely love pears – esp when they are perfectly ripe! Craving one right now after reading this post! And blackberries are the best too : ))Reply
Helen
this is just great for using up those windfalls which will never ripen!
Reply
Platter Talk
If the flavor matches the beautiful photograph & description, we’re in!Reply
Helen
We enjoyed it Dan!
Reply
Lisa
This looks and sounds wonderful! How lucky for you to have access to such delicious foraged foods!
Reply
Helen
There is something very special about foraged food.
Reply
Josephine Arkley
Yesterday I made the pear and apple tray bake as I had a whole tree full of pears scattered after the high winds.What to do with so many pears even after freezing and poaching?As I love cake this was ideal and I must say it was DELICIOUS moist flavoursome and left me wanting more.I will make it again and again.Reply
Helen
Thank you Josephine,
Reply
Stephanie
This recipe looks amazing and can’t wait to make it today!!
Just few questions… 1) are frozen blackberries ok to use straight from frozen and 2) Do you know if it freezes well?Reply
Helen
I think that frozen blackberries will be fine, but you will need to cook for a little longer. I’ve not tried freezing it, I can’t see why it wouldn’t work – it would be lovely warmed and served with custard.
Reply
Purp
Delicious! Took quite a while longer to bake. Made it with blackberries and pears I had frozen from last autumn and turned out very nice. Froze about half of it so we’ll see how that comes out.Reply
Helen
so glad you enjoyed it. Baking times can vary – most oven thermostats are very unreliable. Did you defrost the blackberries before making it?
Reply
