Cardamom Pear Muffins

I created this recipe over a decade ago, when I went on a wild muffin making binge.

SO many great recipes came from that week - see the link list near the bottom of this for more of them!

Anyway, Cardamom and Pear is one of my favorite flavor combinations for baking with, so of course I had to incorporate them into a muffin recipe.

It quickly became one of Porter’s favourite muffin recipes!

This delicious recipe makes 12 big, fluffy muffins with the right amount of sweetness, a delicate crumb and warm, exotic flavor.

The use of shredded pear makes for a lovely moist muffin, and the crumb topping really finishes it off perfectly.

It's an easy breakfast to make, and the perfect way to start a day!

Well... and a great snack to enjoy any time of day, really.

Ingredients

This cardamom pear muffin recipe uses really simple ingredients.

Anything that’s not already on hand - pantry staples! - will be easy to find at almost any grocery store.

A few notes for you:

Fresh Pears

Over the years, we’ve made these easy pear muffins with a few different varieties of pears... usually just whatever we either had on hand, or what looked best / was on sale at the store.

Overall, ripe Bartlett pears are PROBABLY the best pears to use, but bosc pears and green anjou pears have worked well also.

A few things to keep in mind:

1. Aim for juicy pears. The pears contribute so much moisture and flavour to the batter, you don’t want a “dry” pear.

2. Overripe pears are a mess to deal with when grating, but give you the best pear flavor and moisture.

3. Because the moisture from the pears is used for the texture of the muffin, you really do want to grate them. Diced pears won’t give you the same texture.

4. You need 1.5 cups of grated pears, which tends to work out to about 2 large. When in doubt, have 3 on hand - just in case!

Note: This recipe was definitely made for fresh fruit. Canned pears are not going to be a suitable substitution.

All-Purpose Flour

I’ve only ever made this delicious muffin recipe using all purpose flour, as it will work the best with the flavours and textures.

You CAN use a bit of whole wheat flour in there if you’d like, but I wouldn’t swap out more than about ⅓ of the amount of flour, or the moisture levels could be affected.

Also: it could overwhelm the delicate flavor of the pears.

Milk

Back when I first created this pear muffins recipe, I was making it with 2% milk.

That, skim milk, or whole milk will all work, with only very slight differences in taste/texture.

In recent years, I’ve been making these healthy pear muffins with non-dairy milk. Usually this is Unsweetened Almond Milk, but really it’s just whatever we have on hand.

Oat milk, Cashew Milk, and Flax Milk all work well and taste great in this recipe.

Unsalted Butter

I originally designed this recipe with butter, as it tastes better.

As the cost of butter started skyrocketing, I’ve been making it with the same amount of vegetable oil.

Same performance, only a slight change in taste, much cheaper.

Bonus: Pear muffins made with oil have a better texture right out of the fridge, than butter muffins do.

Muffins made with butter tend to be drier when chilled - you’ll want to reheat slightly before serving.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Granulated Sugar
Brown Sugar
Large Eggs
Ground Cardamom
Vanilla Extract
Baking Powder
Salt

... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go!

How to Make Cardamom Pear Muffins Streusel

The full recipe - including the complete list of ingredients and measurements - is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Here is a pictorial walk through, though:

Cardamom Streusel Topping:

In small bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and cardamom.

Use a pastry cutter, two forks, or clean fingers to cut in 2 tablespoons butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Fresh Pear Muffins

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners, or spray with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom, and salt.

Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

In a separate bowl - I use a medium bowl for this - combine eggs, milk, melted butter, vanilla, and grated pears.

Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture.

Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy.)

Divide batter between 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each to almost full.

Sprinkle streusel topping over muffin batter in cups.

Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.

Cool in muffin cups on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.

Remove from muffin pan; serve warm.

Leftovers

I’ll generally let these sit on the kitchen counter until they’re cooled right down to room temperature.

Then, I’ll either wrap each in plastic wrap if we need them for on-the-go breakfasts, or put them in an airtight container, en masse. (A large freezer bag works!).

They’ll keep for a few days at room temperature, or about a week or so in the fridge.

If stored in the fridge, warm them up slightly before serving, for the best taste and texture.

More Muffin Recipes!

Are you a fellow fan of muffins? I have some more marvelous muffin recipes for you!

All-Bran Muffins
Apple Blueberry Muffins
Banana Nut Muffins
Breakfast Corn Muffins
Cardamom Pear Streusel Muffins
Carrot Cake Muffins
Cranberry Orange Pistachio Muffins
Cream Cheese Stuffed "Everything" Muffins
Gingerbread Muffins
Gluten Free Banana Muffins
Gluten-Free Blackberry Muffins
Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
Gluten-Free Cranberry Walnut Muffins
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
Healthier Apple Oatmeal Muffins
Maple Pumpkin Spiced Muffins
Orange, Date, and Almond Muffins
Peach Cobbler Muffins
Pina Colada Muffins
Stuffed Banana Nutella Muffins
Sweet Potato Muffins