Chocolate Pear Cake - chocolate and pears go really well together in this easy cake! This cake makes a perfect breakfast and dessert!
I made this chocolate pear cake quite a while ago and really liked it, even though never before have I combined chocolate cake batter and pears. As I luckily discovered, pears and chocolate cake work really well together in this easy-to-prepare, everyday cake. Especially if you have a couple of very ripe pears that you don't know what to do with.
The original recipe called for caramelizing the pears and placing them on the bottom of the baking pan for an upside-down cake effect, but I didn't want to caramelize the pears I had because they were too soft and overly ripe already.
Instead, I just placed chopped fresh pears on top of the cake batter, expecting the cake batter to rise evenly around the pears. The cake did rise around the pears, but in very select places as you can see for yourself on the photos. Still, the cake looked reasonably pretty, especially when dusted with confectionery sugar, and, what's more important, tasted really good!
This chocolate pear cake recipe is good on many levels: it's easy-to-make, it's delicious, the chocolate cake texture is just right, and this dessert has fruit in it which is what I love. It's one of those recipes I will definitely try again. Maybe next time, I'll fold the pears directly into the batter (instead of putting them on top) or will use different fruit or berries.
Recipe Notes
- What baking pan to use? Use a 9×9 inch square pan or 9 inch round springform pan. If using a springform pan, line the bottom of the springform pan with a round piece of parchment paper.
- After your cake is baked, dust it with powdered sugar before serving: it will make this tasty cake look really pretty!
Chocolate pear cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 4 ounces dark chocolate , chopped
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 pears ripe, peeled, cored, and chopped into large chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 9×9 inch square pan or 9 inch round springform pan. If using a springform pan, line the bottom of the springform pan with a round piece of parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt - mix to combine.
- Melt the butter and dark chocolate in a small bowl, using a microwave, or on a stove top in a small pan over low heat. Stir well.
- Transfer melted chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl, add granulated sugar, and, using electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes until the mixture is light in color. Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating to combine. Add flour mixture and milk, alternating between the two in two additions, into the chocolate mixture.
- Pour the cake batter into the baking pan and place chopped pears on top of the cake batter. Alternatively, you can fold in chopped pears into the cake batter before adding the cake batter into the baking pan.
- Bake for about 45 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out reasonably clean and the cake bounces when touched.
- Cool on a wire rack for 15-30 minutes. If using springform pan, release the cake when completely cooled.
- Dust with powdered sugar before serving: it will make this tasty cake look really pretty!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Hi Just tried your recipe. It's baking in the oven and will be an Easter dessert . I poached my pears to soften them and added some sugar, cinnamon sticks, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla syrup,
and orange zest. Cooling in the fridge.In the batter I added some Poire William liqueur and layered the pear slices amidst the o.nes cubed in the batter. I added some pistachio bits on the top amidst the slices of pears to give saltiness taste edge over the chocolatey sweetness. My batter was pretty thick too though I diffused it a little more with the poire William liqueur. We'll see. On verra..I too live in France now, in the southern region of Occitanie, however am originally from Boston
I've made wonderful banana bread with chocolate, both with chocolate pepites, and adding baking unsweetened chocolate powder, adding praline bits as well.Ive wanted to try pear chocolate bread
as well in place of a cake.
I also made a strawberry coulis with fresh strawberries over massepain, a specialty in the area that is like an angel food cake though denser and sweeter.
Happy Easter and many thanks for your baking devotion!!
.
Cheryl, What a beautiful and thoughtful comment — you are truly a creative baker! 🙂 Your additions sound absolutely incredible, especially the poached pears with all those warm spices and the touch of Poire William liqueur. I bet the pistachios added the perfect little salty crunch too! It makes me so happy to hear how you made the recipe your own. Looks like you had a wonderful Easter celebration in beautiful Occitanie — and thank you so much for sharing your delicious ideas with me and other readers here! 🙂
This is very delicious. I used 1 pound of frozen pears from our tree instead of 3 pears and substituted coconut oil for butter. It is very moist and has terrific chocolate flavor with or without frosting.
I Julia, cake sounds perfect ! Can I plan ahead and freeze cake?