Learn how to make pear cake with fresh pears and spices. You can serve pear cake for breakfast with coffee or whipped cream topping for dessert.
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What Is Pear Cake?
Pear cake is a tender cake with fresh pears and warm spices. The addition of cornstarch helps keep this cake moist and ensures the cake will stay crisp once it is removed from the pan. Lemon juice and zest provide bright citrus notes, while ground nutmeg in the batter adds a bit of spice. Pear cake is a popular recipe in the autumn when fresh pears are readily available at farmers’ markets.
5 Tips for Making Pear Cake
Making pear cake is simple, but consider these tips to ensure success:
- 1. Use fresh pears. For delicious pear cake, use ripe pears that are still firm. You can substitute canned pears when fresh pears are unavailable.
- 2. Mix in cornstarch. An easy trick for making your own cake flour is to mix cornstarch into all-purpose flour. This makes for a very tender crumb without having to seek out a specialty ingredient.
- 3. Add nuts to the batter. Mix in chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter to add texture.
- 4. Serve with toppings. Finish the pear cake with a dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a simple dusting of powdered sugar.
- 5. Store your pear cake. Pear cake will keep at room temperature covered in plastic wrap or aluminum foil for a few days, and you can also freeze it. Simply wrap the cake whole or sliced in a layer of plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, and store it for up to six months in the freezer.
What Are the Best Pears for Cakes?
There are many varieties of pears, but try one of these for the best results:
- 1. Anjou: You can find this mild, common variety listed as both “red Anjou” or “green Anjou,” but there’s no marked difference in taste between them. Red Anjou pears have a burnished rusty color and tend to be slightly more elongated than the green variety.
- 2. Bartlett: Also known as “Williams Pears,” super soft Bartlett pears are high on the juicy side of the scale. They’re found as both “red Bartlett” and “green Bartlett,” but both colors are packed with flavor.
- 3. Bosc: Bosc pears have a matte, almost mottled look to their skin, with rougher patches of light brown overlaying the green skin beneath. They’re highly aromatic and hold their shape well when sliced into dishes like a radicchio salad or baked into a pear tart or cake.
Fresh Pear Cake Recipe
makes
1 9-inch cakeprep time
20 mintotal time
1 hr 15 mincook time
55 minIngredients
- 1
Peel 2 of the pears, remove the core, and cut into ¾-inch pieces. Halve and core the remaining pear, then thinly slice the pear lengthwise.
- 2
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 3
Grease a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray or melted butter.
- 4
Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Whisk to distribute evenly.
- 5
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Whip on medium speed until well combined, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- 6
Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. Gently fold in the diced pears.
- 7
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- 8
Fan out the pear slices on top of the batter, gently pressing into the surface of the cake.
- 9
Transfer the cake to the oven and bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 45–55 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
- 10
Run a knife around the inside edge of the cake pan to release the cake anywhere it may be sticking. Unlatch the springform pan. Gently remove the cake from the sides and bottom of the pan, and transfer to a serving plate.
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