Alice Wrobel from the London Pantry shares her recipe for brown butter, pear, sage and hazlenut cakes.
Ingredients
120g light brown sugar
120g unsalted butter
1 egg
225g self raising flour
40g chopped roasted hazelnuts
6 tbsp whole milk
250g chopped, peeled and cored pear
15 sage leaves
Vanilla essence
Method
To start, put your butter in a pan over a low heat; after it has melted add your sage leaves. The butter will eventually turn frothy and you will then start to see the solids brown and at this point you can remove it from the heat. Be patient and savour the nutty aroma of the browning butter! Allow to cool slightly before passing the butter through a sieve lined with a piece of kitchen towel.
Add the sugar and egg to a mixer and beat until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the butter and flour, alternating between the two; then add the milk, vanilla essence and a pinch of salt. Stir through the pear and hazelnuts. The mixture will make 16 small cakes; bake for 15-20 mins at 180° (non fan) on the middle shelf. Once cooked (the cakes will feel springy to the touch), remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.