Mini Pear Cardamom Doughnut Cakes

Mini Cardamom Pear Doughnut Cakes

Adapted from  Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking

Makes 12

Cakes:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• ¾ tsp salt
• 10 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 6oz jar of Quince & Apple Pear with Honey and Ginger Preserves
• ⅔ cup milk
• 1 egg

Topping:

• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• Pinch of salt
• 6 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a standard 12 cup muffin tin. 

To make the cakes, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom, and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Add in the melted butter, pear preserves, milk, and egg, and stir until just mixed. Divide batter evenly into the muffin tin - you will not quite fill each well to the top. 

Bake cakes at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until the tops are just beginning to turn golden brown and the cake springs back when pressed. Let them cook in the pan for about 10 minutes. 

While the cakes cool, make the topping by combining the sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and a pinch of salt in a small shallow bowl. Put the melted butter in another small shallow bowl. Remove a cake from the pan, dip the top in the melted butter, and then immediately dip into the cinnamon/sugar mixture to coat. Repeat with all of the cakes.