Pear & Poppy Seed Coffee Cake

Have you noticed that I like making coffee cakes?! Well that's because we eat them for breakfast.... yup, cake for breakfast! Mornings are always a little rushed around here, and I hate leaving home without eating something. So a thick slice of coffee cake does the trick.

 This poppy seed cake is light & airy, while the pears give it a nice moisture. You just need to remember to check your teeth for hidden poppy seeds before heading out the door ; )

Pear & Poppy Seed Coffee Cake

1/3 Cup Poppy Seeds

1 Cup milk

1 Cup butter/margarine

1 Cup sugar

3 eggs

2 Cups flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon rind

1 cup chopped pear (fresh or canned)

1. heat poppy seeds and milk in a small saucepan, and remove from heat just before boiling. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a bundt or bread pan.

3. Cream the butter & sugar together. Then mix in eggs and vanilla.

4. Sift together dry ingredients in another bowl. Then add to the butter mixture in batches, alternating with the milk-poppy seed mixture.... until everything is just mixed.

5. Gently stir in the pears and lemon rind.

6. Poor into baking pan and bake for approximately 50 minutes, (or by toothpick test).

Allow to cool 10 minutes, then enjoy : )

ps: the pears all seemed to sink to the bottom while baking. I'm not sure how to avoid this. The cake still tasted delicious though. But if anyone knows a trick for evenly distributing fruits in baked goods, please let me know!