Fresh Ginger and Pear Cake

"With its pears and spices, it’s a great recipe to ease into the beginning of fall baking."

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Have you ever received a produce subscription box? We signed up for one a few months ago and now we have a variety of fruits and vegetables delivered to our front door every two weeks. It’s quite convenient and has led to some delightful new baking experiments; there have been several things included in the boxes that are outside the norm of our usual shopping trips. In a recent box we received a nice big chunk of fresh ginger and I quickly got to work to see what I could do with it, as I had never baked with it before. The box also contained some lovely, giant red pears, so this recipe for Fresh Ginger and Pear Cake from the View from Great Island fit the bill perfectly. 

After preparing the batter and pouring it into the pan, I tasted a little bit that somehow found its way onto my finger, and I will admit it made me apprehensive about how this recipe would turn out. It was spicy! The flavors were far too intense and I thought this cake was going to be a disaster. I was relieved, however, to taste the final product and find that the flavors had mellowed out into a pleasant, lightly spiced pear cake. I made only a few changes to the original recipe, mostly out of necessity (I wanted to make it gluten-free and didn’t have cardamom on hand). The result was delicious and I would gladly make this again. With its pears and spices, it’s a great recipe to ease into the beginning of fall baking (even though it is still solidly in the 90s everyday here in Florida). 

Fresh Ginger and Pear Cake

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Category

Cake

Servings

8-10

Prep Time

20-25 minutes

Cook Time

40-50 minutes

Author:

Stephanie R.

The result was delicious and I would gladly make this again. With its pears and spices, it’s a great recipe to ease into the beginning of fall baking.

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

• 3 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

• Pinch of ground cloves

• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 and 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

• 1 ½ - 2 large ripe pears, sliced

• Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9 inch cake pan with precut parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, letting each become fully incorporated. Add vanilla.

4. In a small bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.

5. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the Greek yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour.

6. Stir in the ginger.

7. Spread the batter into your prepared pan.

8. Arrange your pear slices on top of the cake, pushing them into the batter very slightly.

9. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the cake is puffed and starting to turn golden on top.

10. Allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan. Continue to cool on a baking rack, and dust with powdered sugar when completely cooled.

Recipe Note

We made this Gluten Free by substituting a Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. Feel free to swap that out with your favorite baking flour.