This Spiced Pear Cake is covered with the most amazing tasting browned butter icing!
We live in a happy cul-de-sac consisting of seven homes. There are 15 children in our cul-de-sac, ranging in age from 1 to 20. Our quiet, little corner is a haven for kids playing football, jumping bikes off ramps and playing hide-and-go-seek. It’s definitely an ideal place to be if you’re looking for suburbia. The neighbors are pretty darn nice. Case in point: Neighbor A backed into Neighbor B’s car the other day. The bumper was smashed up pretty good, and Neighbor A felt awful… so A brought B a basket full of fresh pears to apologize. Neighbor B brought some of those pears to me, and I made Spiced Pear Cake with Browned Butter Icing. I told you it was a happy cul-de-sac, didn’t I?
Oh yeah, see that icing drizzle? It’s a must… an absolute must. And you get more bang for your buck with this recipe since it makes TWO cakes 🙂
I opted to make this recipe in two loaf pans because I like to change things up a bit and make cakes in “tea cake” fashion now and then. I think it works best for this recipe. The cake bakes up much like banana bread, but it’s too sweet to call it bread. So it’s CAKE, my friends.
Here’s the super yummy part: BROWNED BUTTER ICING. Do not leave off the icing. Seriously, don’t do it. It’s so so so easy to make, and you will want to eat it by the spoonful before you even drizzle it onto the cake. Not that I’m advocating that or anything, but it certainly gives you a good idea of how delicious this stuff is.
Remember I mentioned that this recipe makes TWO cakes? Well, that nice neighbor who gave me the pears ended up getting them back again in one of these cakes. Yep, I gave her a cake. That happy-neighbor-thing is just kind of sickening to hear, isn’t it?
A little slice of this cake… with those spiced pears flecked throughout… and just the right amount of browned butter icing drizzled on top… is a perfectly nice dessert for fall (and for the abundance of fresh pears available right now). Use the rest of your pears to make my friend’s Pear Buttermilk Breakfast Cake. It’s delicious too!
Spiced Pear Cake with Browned Butter Icing
Ingredients
CAKE:
- 3 medium to large firm pears (peeled, cored and chopped)
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups granulated white sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
BROWNED BUTTER ICING:
- ¼ cup (½ stick) salted butter
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 4 to 5 teaspoons boiling hot water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Arrange your oven rack to the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 5x8-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray.
PREPARE THE CAKE:
- In a medium bowl, toss the pears with the white and brown sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, milk, oil and applesauce. Whisk in the dry ingredients until they are just mixed in (don't over-mix). Stir in the pears and all of their sweet and spicy juices too. Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake 60 to 70 minutes, or until the loaves are baked through and test done (toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean). Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.
ADD THE ICING:
- When cake is cool, prepare the icing. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat and stir for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the butter is lightly browned (you will see little flecks of brown throughout the melted butter when it is properly browned). Remove it from the stove and pour it into a bowl. Whisk in 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Add 3 teaspoons of the water and the vanilla. Whisk in more powdered sugar a little at a time until it thick but still pourable (add a teaspoon or two of additional water, if needed). Place paper towels under the rack and drizzle the icing onto the cakes. Serve immediately, or store in a covered container until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello, can we freeze this cake?
Probably- but I haven’t tried.
I made this recipe last week and it was KILLER. I’m making it again already. I had super juicy local pears and the flavor was incredible. The browned butter icing totally makes it. Thank you so much! This is going in my recipe box (yes, an actual box of my faves)!
How many cups of fresh/frozen pears already chopped up do you think go in here?
Maybe 3 cups?
Once I saw this recipe, I knew it was a keeper! And it sure did pass the test!! Originally I made it right before Hurricane Sandy hit and my plans to bring it to work was interrupted, so I threw the loaves in the freezer (unfrosted). They kept really well for another week until we could reorganize our fall fest at work. My 2 loaves did not last long at work and just about everyone asked for the recipe. I finally just put a stack out next to the bread (or at least the empty plate) until they were gone, too The frosting alone will be reproduced at a great rate!! Definitely make sure you make it thick enough so you don’t waste any extra drizzles but it is still easy to pour over the bread. And make sure you do lick any extra–it would be a true crime if any went to waste 🙂
awesome to hear of your success with the recipe. Makes me happy!
Absolutely stunning cake! I made it tonight, and I can’t remember the last time when I was so pleased with my baking (OK, I remember – it was the Dutch Crumb Apple Pie). I baked it in a 11 x 3 inch loaf pan and it didn’t overflow (phew). I’m not one for thick icing, but the brown butter one was to die for – I kept sneaking bits of it even before I put it on the loaf. The cake is moist, spicy, fruity and sweet – in other words, everything I love about a cake. Thanks for posting this!
Happy to hear of your success with the recipe!
In my previous comment, I failed to mention that I subbed extra applesauce for the oil, hence the note that I will use less applesauce next time. 🙂
Thank you SO much for this delicious creation! I made it once, per the recipe, on Saturday, and gave one of the loaves to a friend. Then today I made it AGAIN (!) but made it a little healthier by subbing one of the cups of white flour for WW, 1 C &2 T honey instead of sugar. I did use the white and brown sugars for the pears, and stayed with powdered sugar for the icing. The healthier version was really just as tasty, and even though I grind my own flour, it didn’t make it too heavy (I did sift it as I put it in) I might try all WW next time. The only small complaint I might make is that it was a bit too moist. I think next time I will use less applesauce, maybe 3/4 cup, keeping in mind that using all WW requires a bit extra moisture. Last thing- since I did use all honey, I lowered the temp to 325 and baked it an extra 15-20 minutes and it wasn’t burned a bit! YUM!
Made this cake last night, with the brown butter drizzle, and it was delicious. It was a great way to use up pears I already had in the fridge. Thanks again.
This was so good! I love it! I need to share a recipe I have for an apple bread. It’s similar to this recipe. I absolutely loved this bread and can’t wait to make it again.
I Just finished putting on the glaze. I can’t wait to taste this. The brown butter glaze is heavenly (I licked the spoon). I have been looking for ways to use pears. What a great recipe>