Zoë François’s poached pear ginger cake inspired this chocolate pear loaf, with a wintry forest of pear stems poking out of the top. I loved the idea so much, I made a chocolate version, with pears tucked into a warmly spiced batter with a drizzle of pink glaze made from the pear poaching syrup. You can use any poached pear recipe you’d like, but these poached pears are my go-to.
Reasons I love this chocolate pear cake
- The drama! I love how the pear stems look poking through the top.
- Chocolate and spice is an underrated combination. But the combination of chocolate, spice, and pears work together in perfect harmony in this chocolate pear cake.
- It is way easier to make than it looks. It’s made from pretty simple ingredients and the process is not particularly complicated, but it’s a total showstopper.
- It’s delicious!
Tips for success
1) Use perfectly-poached pears.
Make sure you use perfectly-poached pears, simmered low and slow. Pears that bubble away will turn to mush long before they reach this pear cake. They need to be firm and nicely done. My poached pear recipe walks you thought the process.
2) Don’t over-mix the batter.
This is important for any cake recipe. Once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed up separately, combine and stir just until no dry streaks remain. Over-mixing can lead to a dense, dry loaf.
3) Skewer the pears if they won’t stay upright.
If your pears are slumping over at odd angles, you can thread a metal skewer through them level with the top of the loaf pan to keep them from falling over.
PrintChocolate Pear Cake with Poached Pears
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup [130 g] all-purpose flour
- ½ cup [40 g] cocoa powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¾ cup [150 g] brown sugar
- ¼ cup [55 g] unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan
- ¼ cup [55 g] canola oil
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅔ cup [160 g] buttermilk, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup [85 g] finely chopped walnuts, plus more for sprinkling
- 3 whole poached pears
For the icing:
- 2 to 3 Tbsp mulled wine pear syrup (from these poached pears)
- 1 cup [120 g] powdered sugar
Instructions
- To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Butter a 9 by 5 in [23 by 13 cm] or 8 by 4 in [20 cm by 10 cm] loaf pan and line with a parchment sling.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk (or sift) together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, and cardamom until lump-free. Set aside.
- Place the brown sugar, melted butter, oil, eggs, and salt in another medium mixing bowl. Whisk together until combined. Add the buttermilk and whisk together until completely smooth.
- Sprinkle the walnuts over the dry ingredients, then pour on the wet ingredients and stir together just until there are no lumps (do not overmix). Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Submerge the pears in the batter, standing upright, evenly distributing them. To keep them from falling over, optionally place metal skewers through them horizontally so that the skewers rest on the pan.
- Bake for about 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in a gap between 2 pears comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool at room temperature.
- To make the icing, while the cake cools, in a small mixing bowl, whisk together the syrup and powdered sugar. Drizzle the glaze onto the cooled cake and sprinkle with more walnuts.
Psst… by the way, I love this recipe so much, I ended up including it in my cookbook, Piecemeal.
If you like this recipe as much as I do, you might like my book! It’s full of mix-and-match recipes and inspiration for fun and easy meals.
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