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.
Pear & Ginger Spiced Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups chopped fresh pears about 3 pears
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Optional Vanilla or Almond Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, beat eggs with granulated sugar until combined. Add brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the chopped pears and walnuts. The batter will be thick — this is normal!
- Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 55–60 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool before slicing and serving.
- Optional glaze: Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla or almond extract until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
