Chocolate Pear Muffins

I am loving pears at the moment. I know this is my second pear post in as many weeks, but pears aren’t in season for that long so I have to make the most of them while I can! Pear goes wonderfully in these chocolately muffins.The variety of pear I have used (though you can, of course, use any variety of pear you want) is the Conference pear, one of the most well-known and popular varieties. Available during the autumn (and often stored until January) it is used as both an eating and cooking pear.

The Conference pear was developed and cultivated in England in 1884 by a man named Thomas Rivers at his home in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, as an open pollinated seedling from a Leon Leclerc de Laval pear tree. It is now the most widely grown pear in north-west Europe. The Conference pear is also now grown in America and has been imported to China since 2011. The name “Conference” originates from the fact that the pear variety won first prize at the 1885 National British Pear Conference!

Conference pears have a distictive long and thin shape and a green russet-covered skin. They’re flavour is sweet and juicy.Pears of any variety go extremely well with chocolate, and I’d love you to give these muffins a try!

• Servings: 12 muffins
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Ingredients

• 225g flour
• 3tbsp cocoa powder
• 2tsp baking powder
• 75g brown sugar
• 50ml yogurt
• 125ml vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm cubes

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 200c and line a muffin tin
• Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar in a bowl
• In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg, then whisk in the oil and yogurt
• Tip the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined
• Fold in the pear
• Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases
• Bake for 15-18 minutes
• Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack

Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days

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