Perfect Pear Coffee Cake
A lovely coffee cake, full of Fall flavours. Perfect for when fresh pears are at their best. The cake is flavoured with nutmeg and the topping with ginger. Of course, it has a lovely crumble and lots of pecans on top, too.
Pity the poor pear. They come into season right alongside the beautiful, shiny apples. And apples are so versatile and perfect for baking. How’s a pear to compete?
It’s time to show the pear some love and there’s no better way than to give them a place in this lovely coffee cake. The flavours are wonderful, from the nutmeg in the batter to the ginger in the topping. It’s Fall in coffee cake form.
The original recipe for this coffee cake called for a 9×13-inch baking pan. I decided to bake mine in an 8-inch springform pan, since I love a tall and round coffee cake. It had to bake a lot longer, obviously. I also should have put some foil on the top part way through to stop the nuts from getting too browned. You can bake in either, or a 10-inch springform if you like. Learn from my mistake though and do cover the top loosely with foil if after about 40 minutes of baking.
Pear Coffee Cake
Summary: This is a lovely coffee cake, full of great Fall flavours. If baking in an 8-inch springform pan, be sure to loosely cover the top with tin foil after 40 minutes of baking to avoid over-browning of the top.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 cups chopped ripe pears (about 2 pears)
- Topping
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 13-inch or 8 or 10-inch springform pan and pre-heat oven to 350° F.
- In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, salt and nutmeg. Add the oil and stir until the dry mixture is moistened and crumbly. Remove 1 cup of the crumble mixture and set aside.
- To the remaining crumble in the bowl, add the slightly beaten egg, 1 cup buttermilk, baking soda and baking powder. Add the chopped pear. Mix on low speed, just until combined. (Try to avoid crushing the fruit. You don’t need to over-mix)
- Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Prepare the topping by combining the 1 cup of reserved crumble with the ginger and chopped pecans. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees: 40 minutes for a 9×13-inch pan or up to 65 minutes for an 8-inch springform pan (**cover top of cake loosely with foil after 40 minutes of baking to avoid the top over-browning.) Bake until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 40 min | Total time: 50 min
Number of servings (yield): 12
Adapted from a Food.com recipe
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4 comments
Barb P says:
Oct 14, 2012
I made this recipe today and it is absolutely delicious! I made it in an 8-inch spring form pan and found I needed to cook it for 85 minutes (65 mins stated in recipe), but it could be my oven temperature isn’t accurate. Definitely will make again – thank you for sharing!
Jen says:
Oct 15, 2012
Thanks Barb. Glad you enjoyed it!
Lou H says:
Mar 14, 2013
Hi Jen, made this cake yesterday for my family and it was devine. Just a silly question why is it called a coffee cake when there is no coffee in the recipe? Is it because it is one of the best ways to enjoy it with a lovely cup of coffee? I agree with the other comment, I also needed 85 minutes baking time.
Jen says:
Mar 14, 2013
Hi Lou and yes, it’s because it goes well with an afternoon (or after-dinner, I guess) cup of coffee. Glad you enjoyed it!