Pears are a sweet and varied fruit perfect for fall baking. If you need a break from fall apple recipes, try some of these favorite pear recipes, including my popular Pear Cake with Cardamom Glaze!
Pears can be an overlooked and forgotten fruit. I think they get lost in the shuffle between summer berry season and fall apple season, but these late summer to early fall fruits are wonderful and complex. Like apples, there are different varieties that range in flavor profiles. This post celebrates pears in all their glory, with a range of recipes. If this is a fruit you’ve overlooked in the past, now’s the time to stop and enjoy one of my favorite fruits for baking.
More Fall Dessert Recipes
Perfect Pear Desserts
1
For this spin on my granny’s dessert I combined Swedish Cream with a poached pear puree and then topped it with a layer of poached pear jelly and put it on a base of almond joconde sponge cake. It takes a bit of time but is really quite easy to make!
Get the recipe
2
Aran Goyoaga’s new book Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple includes this amazing recipe for meringue cake with roasted apples. I made it as written, except I did mine with pears. Aran has graciously allowed me to share her recipe with you.
Get the recipe
3
This pear pie with caramel is a perfect fall or winter treat. It looks stunning, but you’ll be surprised just how easy it is to put together. Simply make a few components, then assemble and bake.
Get the recipe
4
This is sweet spin on the Midwestern staple, hot dish! The pears add their wonderful and distinct flavor, and cranberries give a tart kick. The combination is a fun twist on fall crisps.
Get the recipe
5
Get the recipe
6
Get the recipe
7
This poached pear ginger 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.
Get the recipe
8
As my beautiful pears ripened, the texture was as soft as an overly ripe banana, so I got the idea of making my banana bread recipe with chunks of the ripe pears. I added a bit of homemade granola, instead of the toasted coconut I usually put in banana bread.
Get the recipe
9
The perfumed sweetness of the pears in this cake meets the warmth of candied ginger and cardamom to create a sophisticated combination that tastes as comforting as Grandma’s house feels.
Get the recipe
10
You can choose your favorite variety of apple to make this cake satisfy your mood—crisp, sweet, tangy, juicy, etc. The pears add a wonderful sweetness and additional layer of fruit flavor.
Get the recipe
11
Get the recipe
12
The flavors of this tarte tatin are a match made in heaven. The tartness of the pomegranate is a perfect match for the sweet caramel and the mellow flavor of the seckel pears.
Get the recipe
These tender and succulent poached pears are perfect with ice cream or sorbet. The pears are simple to make and beautifully absorb the poaching flavors of red wine and pomegranate.
Get the recipe
14
Get the recipe
15
This rustic and stunning pear galette recipe comes from one of my favorite bakers, Michelle Gayer. It’s an easy-to make recipe and a wonderful way to learn about puff pastry.
Get the recipe
16
A simple poached pear is a beautiful and delicious dessert that is easy to make. This recipe is poached in homemade chai and drizzled with chocolate ganache to give it an elegant look.
Get the recipe
17
- 1 c (110g) cake flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 8 oz (226g) almond paste cut into small pieces (see note)
- 1 1/4 cups (250g) sugar
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract make homemade vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 5 eggs room temperature
- 5 ripe pears (peeled, cored, stems on) room temperature
Cardamom Glaze
- 1 cup powdered (confectioners’) sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp Poire Williams liqueur
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Cake
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
-
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom.
-
Blend the almond paste, sugar, butter, almond extract, and vanilla in a food processor until light and fluffy.
-
Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl between each and allowing the eggs to incorporate before adding the next. Add the flour and pulse several times until just combined.
-
Fill the pan with batter, smooth the top. Add the pears, so they are poking up above the batter, securing with a skewer, so they don’t slump under the batter. Bake for about 50-55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
-
Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, run a knife around the outside edge and remove from pan, set on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Then remove cake from the base of the tube pan.
Cardamom Glaze
-
Stir together the powdered sugar, cream, Poire Williams liqueur, and cardamom, adding the cream a bit at a time until the mixture is thin enough to pour over the cake, but thick enough to cling.
The almond paste needs to be soft or it won’t incorporate smoothly. If it is old and dried out, it will just stay in clumps.