HooDoo Vanilla Porter Quick Bread with Barleywine Poached Pears

Ingredients

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Bring two cups water, two cups barley wine and granulated sugar to a slow boil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan.
3. Add whole pears–do not skin or core; reduce heat to medium, and cook at a medium-low boil for five minutes or just until pears start to soften. You want the pears firm in the center, so when poked with a knife, it should stick about 1/4″ down.
4. Remove pears from pan; cool slightly.
5. Trim bottom off each pear so that it is about the height of a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan. Lightly brush 1 1/2 teaspoons flour over bottom 2/3 of each pear. Set aside.
6. Pour yourself some of that barley wine to sip on while you pull together the batter.
7. Weigh or lightly spoon 7.88 ounces (about 1 3/4 cups) flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
8. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
9. Place butter and brown sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended.
10. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
11. Combine HooDoo Vanilla Porter, sour cream, and syrup in another medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
12. Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and beer mixture alternately to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until combined.
13. Scrape batter into a 9 x 5-inch metal loaf pan coated with baking spray.
14. Arrange pears in pan, pressing into batter.
15. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging.
16. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.
17. Slice and eat with a bit of porter to wash it all down…oh, and of course, share with a few good friends.
18. * Adapted from Cooking Light