This pear and ginger cake features cozy fall flavors with the natural sweetness of Bosc pears for a tasty treat perfect for Thanksgiving or the holiday season.
More Fall Recipes
- 22 Favorite Pie Recipes
- 17 Pear Recipes
- 20 Fall Desserts + Fall Spice Guide
- 15 Thanksgiving Desserts That Go Beyond Pie
Pear ginger cake is the quintessential fall cake.
Poached pears were the symbol of a sophisticated dessert when I was a kid. Not that we ever had them, but I saw them standing tall on the pages of Gourmet magazine and always thought how magical it would be to eat something so beautiful. They’re just so elegant and complex and generally boozed up with wine. I poached these in a chai tea cider mixture and they are just as satisfying without the buzz.
The cake is spicy with a kick of freshly grated ginger and tons of warm spice from cloves and cinnamon. It’s by no means an overly sweet cake, which is how I like them. The molasses gives it color and that edge of bitter that I love. I’ve made it using more molasses and I love it, but I mellowed it down by adding some brown sugar to the mix. I think this is a perfect Thanksgiving dessert!
Types of Pears
This recipe features Bosc pears, but you can choose any type of firm pear. Just be careful to avoid any mushy pears that won’t hold up to poaching. Here are a few other options:
- Anjou Pears
- Concord Pears
- Bartlett Pears (these can be softer, so be careful to choose firm or underripe ones)
Pear and Ginger Cake Ingredients
This recipe features all the best fall spices and flavors. For more recipes and tips, check out my guide to fall spices. And don’t forget to make your own vanilla extract!
- Pears: See above, but make sure they are firm!
- Fresh Ginger: Fresh grated ginger is always best, but ground ginger will do in a pinch.
- Cloves: 10 cloves for the poached pears, plus a tsp ground for the cake.
- Cinnamon Stick: A whole stick for the poached pears.
- Cardamom Pods: These are for the poached pears and can be slightly crushed for more intense flavor.
- Blackstrap Molasses: Gives the cake color and a slight bitter edge.
Ingredients
Poached Pears
- 4 firm pears, peeled and cored (I use a melon baller), with stem left on. I used bosc pears, but any will do as long as they are very firm. Soft pears will just turn to mush when you poach them
- 4 cups cider
- 2 cups black tea
- 6 cardamom pods I leave them whole, but you can slightly crush these for more intense flavor.
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 inch piece of ginger, cut into pieces
- 10 cloves
Ginger Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp clove
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 4 oz unsalted butter, soft
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, well packed
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger More to taste
- 3/4 cup black tea
Instructions
Poached Pears
- Combine the cider, spices and tea in a large pot. Add pears and simmer. Cook pears until they are tender. The timing will depend on how firm your pears are. To check to see if they are done, scoop the pears out of the liquid with a slotted spoon and poke the inside of the pear with a fork. It should still resist, but not be too hard. The pear will continue to soften as it bakes in the cake. Remove the pears and set aside.
- Save poaching liquid to make cocktails or drink as is.
Ginger Cake
- Prepare a pan with butter and parchment (this is an extra tall and long pan, but you can use a 9×5 Loaf Pan instead or a Pullman Loaf Pan without the lid).
- Preheat over to 350°F.
- Whisk together the flour, spices, salt and soda, set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the molasses and ginger and mix to combine. Add the egg and mix. Alternate adding the dry and tea to the mix, 1/3 dry, then half liquid, dry, liquid and always end with dry. Mix only enough to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
- Set the pears into the batter.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. I know this is a crazy range of time, but depending on the size and temperature of your pears it may take a very long time for the cake to set. Check with a tester and when it comes out with moist crumbs it is done.
- Cool in the pan until you can comfortably hold the pan. Lift the cake out with parchment and cool completely before slicing.
Can you make this cake without the pears?
Hi Miri, yes you could make this without the pears, but the volume will be quite a bit less if you leave them out. Zoë suggests you use a smaller loaf pan 8×4 inch so the cake isn’t too short. It also won’t take as long to bake, so be sure to look through your oven door about halfway through the baking time to check on it. Enjoy!
I’d love to see you make this cake on your TV show. Please consider!
Hi Zoe,
I’ve been waiting for pear season to try this amazing recipe !
Should peeled and split in half the pears ? If not how to cored them with a melon baller ?
Hi Luz! If you have Instagram, you can see Zoe use a melon baller to remove the seeds here. She peels the pear first, then uses the melon baller to remove the seeds going from the bottom of the fruit. I hope this helps!
Amo esta receta. La hice varias veces con distintas variedades de pera y con los productos que consigo en la Patagonia (Argentina)
¡Gracias!
Hi Zoe, this is a gorgeous tasting recipe but I did a dry run before making it for Christmas and I was wondering how to bake long enough for the middle to bake without overdoing the outer edges?
(i will post and tag you when i do it nicely next week)
Thank You!
Ilene x.
Hi Ilene,
What sized pan are you baking in? If you find the outside is baking too fast, you may want to reduce the temperature slightly and let it bake a bit longer. Make sure the pear is warm when putting it in the cake, so the pear doesn’t prevent the batter in the center from baking.
Cheers, Zoë
Good tip
Hello Zoe
Do you mean cider vinegar or which type of cider are you referring to?
Hi Siya,
I mean apple cider, which is unfiltered apple juice.
Thanks, Zoë
How lovely and obviously delicious!