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Spiced pear cake with salted caramel glaze is tender and comforting, ideal for any occasion.
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I first made this cake back in 2011, and it’s still one of my favorites to pull out in autumn. Pears are often outshone by apples during the season, but their honeyed, buttery flavor makes them ideal for baking with.
This cake was inspired by and adapted from Ruth Reichl’s vanilla cake, along with my friend Stephanie’s confituras salted caramel pear butter, which you should seek out if you’re in the Austin area. (She also inspired my spiced bourbon pear butter!)
Fluffy, moist, and stuffed full of pears, this cake can pull double duty. Serve it unadorned at breakfast, and with the salted caramel glaze for afternoon tea or dessert. It’s also an excellent option for the Thanksgiving table!
Key ingredients for pear cake
This is just an overview. For full measurements and step-by-step instructions, scroll down to the printable recipe card, or use the button on the side.
Unsalted butter – This cake does use lots of butter! You’ll need it in the glaze as well. Even though we add in salt to the batter and glaze, I recommend using unsalted butter in the recipe so you can adjust as needed.
Greek yogurt – Yogurt in place of milk makes the cake exceptionally tender. Make sure to use plain yogurt, or swap in sour cream.
Spices – As with other fall bakes, pear does well with warming spices. We’ll use cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger.
Pears – If you want the pear pieces to be more apparent in the cake, use Bosc or Anjou. Bartlett pears will melt into the batter more as they bake.
Don’t worry about peeling the pears! I’ve found it doesn’t make enough of a difference in the cake to be worth the trouble.
If you have extra pears, make poached pears!
How to make this recipe
This cake is made in a bundt pan *, so make sure to have one ready to go! Grease your pan with butter or nonstick spray, then tap flour into it for an even coating. You can also buy special cake release, but butter and flour works well for me.
In the bowl of a stand mixer *, or using a large mixing bowl * and electric hand mixer *, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at time, making sure they are fully mixed in before adding the next.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no dry bits remain.
Stir in the yogurt and vanilla until no streaks remain in the batter, then fold in the chopped pears. The batter is going to be a bit thick at this point, but don’t worry!
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and slide it into the oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping it out onto a wire rack * to cool completely.
When you’re ready to glaze the cake, combine butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter and sugar are melted, increase to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla carefully (it will bubble), then whisk in the powdered sugar until the glaze is completely smooth. Add salt to taste.
Let the sauce cool 5-10 minutes to thicken slightly, then pour over the cooled cake. Serve immediately or let the glaze set before serving. If you have extra, pour into a small bowl so guests can add to their slices.
Recipe tips
Make sure to grease your bundt pan very well, especially if you have a more decorative bunt pan like the one I used. Bundts are a bit notorious for sticking, so be patient and make sure to let the cake cool a little before turning out.
You can swap the individual spices for apple pie spice blend, or use your favorite combination of fall baking spices.
If pears are unavailable, swap in diced apples or quinces, if you’re lucky enough to get them.
Love caramel? Try my caramel apple slab pie.
Spiced Pear Cake
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour *
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon *
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 5.3 ounces Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups diced pears
For the topping
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a bundt cake pan.
- Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.16 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 3 large eggs
- Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices, then stir into batter.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Stir in yogurt and vanilla until well combined and no white streaks remain. The batter will be very thick. Fold in pears.
- Spoon into the bundt pan. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cake cool 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the topping, combine butter, dark brown sugar, and cream in a small saucepan * over medium heat and melt, stirring. Once melted, increase slightly and bring to a full rolling boil for 1 minute.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla (be careful, as the caramel will bubble up). Add sifted powdered sugar and whisk until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in salt to taste. Let cool slightly, then pour over the cake. The topping will firm up as it cools.1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 2/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 – 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate based on online calculators. Any nutritional information found on Stetted should be used as a general guideline only.
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About Megan
I learned how to cook by exploring seasonal ingredients, and you can too! Meal time shouldn’t be stressful or complicated, and with fresh ingredients and easy methods, I’m here to help you enjoy the time spent in the kitchen. Read more…
Congratulations on giving notice! I’m sure that whatever the next step for you is, it wil be fabulous. Just like that cake.
That’s a big move- here’s to finding your wings and enjoying a piece of cake along the way!
The cake looks great.
SO excited for you. xo
This is a beautiful story told from the heart; the best kind. I can’t wait to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful looking cake recipe, but more importantly for the open and honest manner in which you wrote about this major transition about to happen in your life.
Venturing forth without any guarantees can be very scary and I commend you for taking this major step.
You have the knowledge and what you don’t already know, you will learn. You have the passion and most importantly, you have the belief in yourself and in your dream so I have no doubt that you will do extremely well.
Of course it is not going to be smooth sailing, some of the new opportunities will fall in your lap while some you are going to have to work harder than ever to obtain but I think you are a woman who knows what she wants and is willing to put in all the time and effort needed to achieve her goals.
It is no cliche that life is too short and it is definitely too short to not be doing what you truly love to do. So, congratulations on knowing what that is and on having the courage to go after it. No matter what, keep on believing in yourself and in your dream…it will become your reality.
P.S. I’m sorry that you are having stress induced migraines. Try to worry only about the things you can control…the rest, just deal with IF it happens.
What you are doing takes guts, honey. It’s scary, it’s exciting all in one big lump of time.
Congratulations!
Yum! This looks delicious! And many congratulations on the transition. Freelancing has its ups and downs and its own pros and cons, but on the whole I’ll take it over a staff job any day. I’m so much happier and less stressed working as a freelancer.
Congrats on your new venture! I’ve been there and can tell you the ups and downs and all the excitement that goes along with starting a new adventure makes it all worthwhile. Wish you much success.
It takes a tough person to do what you did and if anyone can make it work, it’s definitely you. Enjoy the ride and we’ll be here to cheer you on!
congratulations! it’s time to fly!!
as the famous Mater once said, “Ain’t no need to watch where I’m goin’; just need to know where I’ve been.” (yes, i’m a slave to disney/pixar)
Congrats Megan on following your heart. I cannot wait to see what the future will hold for you! Hugs XO
The feeling of relief is going to stick around a lot longer than the anxiety will. Even my couple of months of being under- and unemployed were better than being stuck in a cubicle.
Sorry to miss the bake sale but I’ll be at work! At least I get to see you Friday.
<3
I love a cake that can do mulitpule duty… This looks like it would be equally at home on the dessert tray as on the brunch table. Yum!
Congrats on your last day today (well I guess technically yesterday). Looking forward to reading about your new adventure 🙂 You have a lot of people pulling for you I am sure!
Congratulations on quitting the dreaded job! I quit my last full-time job 9 years ago and never looked back! And you made a gorgeous looking cake 🙂
Great recipe! I’ve been craving pears for the last few days, ever since my toddler spilled pear juice on our couch. I’ve been loving the smell of pears in our room, but after we got our furniture cleaned, I’d much rather bring that aroma back from a dish like this. Thanks for sharing!