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bake sale week: pear cake
Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook is, hands down, my favorite baking cookbook. I stare at those pictures over and over, just wishing I didn’t care if I get fat.
Each recipe is gorgeous. I am often tempted to do a Julie & Julia thing and just do every recipe from cover to cover.
This pear cake is an adaptation of a pear Bundt cake she makes in the book. Mine is slightly more simplified, and to make it more for a bake sale, there is enough batter to make four small loaves (That’s enough to keep one yourself!).
This is moist, dense, and very pear-tasting. I hope you like it as much as I did.
pear cake
4 ripe pears, peeled and cut in chunks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
cream cheese glaze (recipe follows)
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray 4 mini loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine pear chunks and 1/4 cup of sugar, and lemon juice. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the pears soften and break apart. You can help them along by smashing them with a potato masher, or just cook until they get soft on their own. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of pear sauce and set aside to cool.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, the remainder of the granulated sugar, and the brown sugar. Mix on high until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Add in vanilla, and beat on medium high speed for 4 minutes. Mix in sour cream.
4. In a small bowl, combine spices, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients to butter and sugar mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Stir in reserved pear sauce. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.
cream cheese glaze
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
Mix all ingredients together, adding more or less cream to reach desired consistency.
18 Responses to “bake sale week: pear cake”
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Gorgeous photos and cake. Nice idea for a bake sale as it’s something a little different. There’s not too much butter in this either. I love anything with cardamom in it.
I drool over my Martha Baking book too. So far, I’ve made her jam crumble bars which were perfectly delicious and her coffee crumble cake but it came out a bit dry.. phooey.
Looks delicious! Where can I find the cream cheese glaze recipe?
Wow. Photos are gorgeous and the cake sounds delicious.
Sorry! I did the post late last night! I’ll get right on it!
I think you should do a Julie and Julia thing. love that movie. This looks so good! Photos are beautiful!
HI! Beautiful pics and love the recipe. Can I make the same amount in a normal sized loaf pan? Have you ever tried? Thanks
I think you can, and the 325 temperature should be good for that. I live at high altitude, though, so I generally stick to making mini loafs of any quick bread, just so I can avoid having a flat cake. But I imagine this would be fine as a large one. Just keep your eye on it.
I really must get Marthas cookbook! This cake looks amazing and sounds so perfect for fall!
This frosting should also be good on carrot cake…
Sounds positively delicious! Any idea how these would work as cupcakes? Baking time adjusted, of course, but anything else noting?
I just made a birthday cake from that cookbook the other day. Other than that though, I haven’t made anything else. Will have to check it out more closely.
This looks delicious! I love that THICK glaze that you spread on top!
[...] couple of weeks ago, I made a similar recipe on my other blog, but instead of cupcakes, I made it up in loaf pans. I hope you’ll enjoy [...]
have you ever tried making these in a 9X9?
[...] Source: Adapted from Sophistimom [...]
[...] a bit. So I took to the internet to find some inspiration and I came across the fabuluous blog of sophistimom. She has an amazing recipe for spiced pear cake that was in turn inspired by Martha Stewart. I have [...]
Oh yum, and yum again!!
Thanks, Nan!
[...] the meantime, you can make your own. This recipe is copied directly from sophistimom’s “Bake Sale Week,” though the cranberries are a new addition, suggested by a friend. In fact, there are a number of [...]