Pears, Honey, and Cinnamon

My awesome Central Jersey town runs a weekly farmers' market during the summer and early fall, and despite being within walking distance from it, I only checked it out for the first time last week. Sadly, it was also the market's last day for this year. But I scored a lovely assortment of locally-grown & locally-made breads, cheeses, veggies, and fruits. Among my haul was a number of pears that I peeled & diced, then cooked on the stove top with some butter and sugar (brown and white) until they were soft and covered in a nice, thick syrup. Naturally, I decided to make cupcakes out of the pear mixture. You can never go wrong with cupcakes, right?


These are pear cupcakes, with honey cinnamon Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. The pears were SO flavorful in the cupcake -- they did not disappoint. Also, this was my very first attempt with SMB frosting, and I have to say, it did not turn out to be the disaster I thought it would be. I liked it a lot better than traditional buttercream. And I think I might substitute ginger for the cinnamon in the frosting next time, just to see how it pairs with the pears and honey.