Spiced Pear Honey Cake

This one-bowl spiced pear honey cake topped with creamy chocolate tahini frosting is about to become your new favorite fall dessert.

Watch how to make this

Ingredients

• Honey: Adds moisture and helps create a tender crumb. Honey also contributes a floral sweetness and helps create a beautiful golden-brown color during baking.
• Olive oil: Keeps the cake incredibly moist and tender even when cooled. You can also use vegetable oil or canola oil.
• Spices: Use a combination of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to create warm, aromatic flavors.
• Buttermilk: Reacts with the baking soda to help create a tender crumb and adds a subtle tang. If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own by adding 1½ teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to ½ cup regular milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using.
• Pears: Anjou, Bosc, or Bartlett pears all work well for this cake. Just make sure they're ripe but still firm so they hold their shape when baking.
• Tahini: Adds a rich, nutty flavor to the frosting while also contributing a silky, smooth texture.

Substitutions and variations

• Frosting: You can skip the frosting or use classic chocolate instead.
• Fruit: Try this cake with apples instead of pears.
• Spices: You can create your own spice blend and add cardamom, allspice, or cloves.

Recipe

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Spiced Pear Honey Cake

Total Time1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake

Servings: 12

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Spiced pear honey cake

• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup brown sugar (100 grams)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
• ½ cup olive oil (125 ml)
• ½ cup honey (168 grams)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup buttermilk (125 ml)
• 2 cups pears, peeled and chopped (320 grams)

Chocolate tahini frosting

• ½ cup butter, softened at room temperature (113 grams)
• ¼ cup tahini (65 grams)
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (195 grams)
• ¼ cup cocoa powder (20 grams)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds for garnish
• 1 pear sliced for garnish optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a half baking sheet pan (9x13 inches) with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
• Make the cake. Whip together the eggs with granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl until doubled in volume, about 4 minutes. It should be creamy and thick.
• Slowly add the oil and honey, mixing constantly until well combined for 1 minute. Add the vanilla and stir to combine.
• Stir together the flour with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add half of the flour to the batter, stirring just until combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in the chopped pears.
• Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking sheet, spreading the batter evenly. Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, make the chocolate tahini frosting. Beat the softened butter with tahini until creamy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the powdered sugar until it's fully incorporated. Add the cocoa powder and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and milk and beat for another 30 seconds or until smooth and creamy.
• Spread the frosting on the cake in an even layer. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and garnish with sliced pears if desired.

Notes

You can bake the cake the day before and store it at room temperature before frosting. 

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Prepare cake batter

When I think of a pear dessert, the first things that pop into my head are cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. These warm spices go hand in hand with the fruit. Add honey to the mix, and you have one delicious fall dessert.

To make the spiced pear honey cake, first, whip the eggs with both granulated sugar and brown sugar. You want to incorporate air into the eggs to help make the cake light and airy. After about four minutes, the mixture should be creamy and thick.

Slowly add the honey and oil to the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Add the vanilla and stir until incorporated.

Next, sift the dry ingredients together, including the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. I'll admit, sometimes I skip this step, but in this case, I wouldn't recommend it. You don't want chunks of flour in the batter, so it's important to sift it first.

Add half of the flour to the batter, followed by the buttermilk, then the remaining flour. Why do we add the flour in stages? This will make it easier to incorporate the flour without overmixing the cake batter. If you overmix the cake batter, it can result in a tough cake.

Stir in the peeled, chopped pears and pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan. I used Anjou pears, but you can also use Bartlett or Bosc pears.

Step 2: Bake

Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the chocolate tahini frosting. Originally, I had included tahini in the cake, but I personally prefer the tahini in the frosting. Plus, it pairs so wonderfully with chocolate.

Spread the frosting on the cake and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and fresh sliced pears if desired. Slice into the beautiful dessert and enjoy!

At first glance, this spiced pear honey cake may look overly sweet. On the contrary, this cake is the perfect balance of fruit, warm spices, tahini, and a subtle amount of chocolate. I just couldn't get enough!

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: The cake can be baked a day ahead and stored covered. Make the frosting fresh on serving day for the best texture.
• Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or refridgerator for up to a week.

Frequently asked questions

More pear dessert recipes

Looking for more pear dessert ideas? Try these: