Fall is my favorite season. It’s ideal “cozy-up-with-a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-warm-slice-of-cake-and-watch-an-extended-Harry-Potter-marathon” weather. Sounds wonderful, right?
Well…I live in Texas. We don’t get leaves changing colors or perfect cardigan weather or any of that gorgeous Fall stuff. Soooo what’s a girl to do?
Answer: bake spiced cakes and brew hot coffee and trick my mind into thinking that leaves are falling right outside my doorstep
Baking this cake means your kitchen filling with the aroma of toasted nuts, fresh ginger, and fall spices. Who doesn’t want that? (also, one of us should make a candle inspired from that scent because I would love for my house to smell like that every single day)
Really, any cakes that incorporate fruit or vegetables is an automatic yes from me– it adds flavor, texture, color, and, of course, it’s own natural sweetness! What’s not to love? Yet pears were actually something I had never baked with before…because personally, I’m not even a big fan of pears. I consider them softer, less juicy versions of apples. (Yes, I know my logic is weird…shhh, let’s move past it.) But, as it turns out, they are absolutely ideal for baking! They kind of blend into the cake and only after biting into the pieces can you tell that it’s actual pear and not just cake!
Well, I ended up making a bundt cake for my family and then a few mini-loaves to give out to friends. The bundt cake was just sweet enough for my family (we tend to learn towards the less sugary option), but I figured my friends would appreciate it a little sweeter so that it would be more of a dessert and less of a “slice of cake to go with my coffee”– hence the vanilla/almond glaze on top.
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups chopped, fresh pears (~3 pears)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a bundt pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and baking soda.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs and white sugar. Once mixed, add brown sugar, oil, and vanilla and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
- Add flour mixture to mixing bowl and mix well.
- Fold in the chopped pears and walnuts. (Don't worry, the batter is supposed to be pretty thick!)
- Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
- For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and extract of your choosing in a small bowl. Mix until smooth. Drizzle with a fork or knife over the cake. Allow it to cool completely before slicing and serving!
