This perfectly fall-themed cake is topped with a sweet maple glaze. (Photo: Sarah F. Berkowitz)Pecan pear cake with maple glaze
The perfect cake for fall with seasonal pears and an earthy, sweet topping.
My local grocery likes to move things around every once in a while, just to keep us routine shoppers on our toes (and spending more). During the last overhaul of their produce department, I asked the manager if they just moved things around or if there were actually new products. He directed me to a gorgeous, colorful display of pears, all shapes, sizes and colors, pointing out that they had just come in and the season wouldn’t last long.
I picked out some smooth, sweet red Bartletts, adorable little seckel pears and a couple d’anjous to round it out (literally – they remind me of squat little toddlers who are almost as wide as they are tall).
Once home, I had to come up with a dessert recipe using some of the pears, and boy was that fun. I dug up an blue ribbon white cake recipe, made some slight modifications, and then rallied the taste testing crew. Turns out we nabbed it on the first try. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup unbleached flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 cup coconut (or almond) milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 pear, diced
- 1 cup candied pecans, chopped
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- 2-4 tablespoon hot water
For cake:
For filling:
For maple glaze:
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine all dry ingredients and mix. Add liquid ingredients and stir until fully incorporated.
Pour half the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan.
Mix diced pears and chopped pecans in a small bowl. (*If you don’t have candied pecans, mix whole pecans with 1/3 cup sugar in a Ziploc bag and pound with a smooth mallet until chopped.)
Sprinkle over batter, then cover with remaining batter.
Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until cake is set.
Before glazing, cake should be completely cool. (Photo: Sarah F. Berkowitz)
When cake is completely cool, mix glaze ingredients until a thick and pourable consistency is achieved (you may have to add a bit more water or powdered sugar). Drizzle over cake.
Allow glaze to harden before covering. Stays fresh for up to a day, can be frozen for a month or more if tightly wrapped.
This perfectly fall-themed cake is topped with a sweet maple glaze. (Photo: Sarah F. Berkowitz)
Related Topics: Baking, Desserts
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