The ol' homestead

Fresh pear cupcakes with chocolate glaze

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh pears (cored and roughly chopped)

1 cup walnuts (chopped)

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 cups unbleached flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp  salt

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

chocolate glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp melted butter

3-4 tbsp boiling water

1/8 tsp instant coffee crystals

combine pear, white and brown sugar and walnuts in a medium sized bowl. let stand about an hour. (do not skip this step..this adds to the incredible moistness of these cupcakes).

preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray cupcake pan with cooking spray..add paper cupcake liners and spray again.

meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift together the remaining dry ingredients. add to the pear mixture and stir until just combined. add the eggs, oil, and vanilla and stir until combined. **note, i use a wooden spoon..not a mixer for the recipe..if you use a mixer, be careful not to over beat***

Fill cupcake sections until even with the top. bake 30-35 minutes until tester inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean. remove from pan and cool on rack. whisk together all chocolate glaze ingredients in small bowl until glaze is smooth and shiny. place a dollop of chocolate glaze on the top of each cupcake.