Fresh Pear Coffee Cake

My pear coffee cake is a moist vanilla cardamom cake full of juicy diced pears and topped with a crunchy pecan streusel ~ can you say dessert for breakfast?

This pear coffee cake might confuse you. It is so fluffy and delicious you’ll wonder if it’s really for breakfast, or should you save it for dessert, or WHAT. No worries, this is so satisfying and delicious you won’t want to waste a precious minute of your morning angsting over whether you’re eating dessert with your first cup of coffee. It’s so good, enjoy.

This is the way I organize my daily eating, btw. I indulge in the am, have a normal (aka tuna salad on half a toasted pumpernickel bagel) type lunch, and healthy (ish) dinner at night. Then I wake up and do it all over again, usually after dreaming about what’s for breakfast 🙂

more dessert for breakfast

• Breakfast Fruit Crisp
• Lemon Yogurt Breakfast Cake (Ciambella)
• 12 Cozy Breakfast Cake Recipes
• Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake
• Cardamom Coffee Cake

pear coffee cake ingredients

• pears
  • my pears are Comice pears (if you’ve ever had Harry & David’s pears, this is the variety.) You can use any pear you like, but make sure they aren’t super ripe and soft. Go for a ripe but firm pear. We’ll be peeling our pears for this recipe.
• sugar
  • brown sugar in the cake, white sugar for the streusel.
• butter
• egg
• choose buttermilk or yogurt
  • my favorite buttermilk replacement is drinkable yogurt, it has the same great properties and consistency.
• flour
• baking powder and salt
• pecans
  • you know I toast them first: 2 minutes spread out on a plate in the microwave.
• cardamom and nutmeg
  • I’m tired of cinnamon, and it can be overpowering. This combo is a refreshing change.
• vanilla
• squeeze of lemon juice
  • just to keep the diced pears from browning. Plus lemon juice is always a flavor booster for fruit.

I use a classic 9″ springform pan (the kind you use for cheesecake) so I can remove my cake for slicing and serving. It’s also important because it has tall sides to contain this rather tall cake. In fact I use this type of pan often when I’m making coffee cakes with toppings ~ this kind of cake can’t be ‘flipped’ out of a regular cake pan because of its delicate nature and loose topping. So even if you don’t make cheesecakes, this type of pan is an essential.

dietary needs substitutions

1. GLUTEN FREE This pear coffee cake will work well with a gf baking mix in a 1:1 ratio with the all purpose flour.
2. NUT FREE You can substitute sunflower seeds, or rolled oats for the pecans in the streusel, or just leave them out.
3. DAIRY FREE Use your favorite vegan butter like Earth Balance, and a plant based yogurt.
4. VEGAN Use the above for dairy free and use egg replacers, flaxseed meal mixed with water, or applesauce for the eggs.
5. MORE FIBER Replace half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. Or replace up to 30% of the all purpose with oat flour.
6. REDUCED OR NO SUGAR Look for a sugar substitute that has a granulated consistency and can be used in a 1:1 ratio with regular sugars. You might try Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener.

variation ideas

Add fresh or frozen cranberries for a cranberry pear coffee cake.

Make an almond pear coffeecake with almonds in the streusel and almond extract instead of vanilla.

Glaze it: make a simple confectioner’s sugar and milk glaze to drizzle over the cooled cake.

more coffee cakes baked in a spring form pan

Raspberry Coffee Cake

French Pistachio Cake

Authentic Irish Apple Cake

the bottom line

This cake has wonderful flavor and texture! The chunky pears and the pecan streusel give it lots of personality, and while it’s delicious with the warm vanilla custard sauce, I would also serve it on its own.

Use those fall pears! I love pears but often pass them up in fall because I’m not sure what to do with them. This cake gives me a new excuse to load up on this fleeting fall fruit.

Perfect for entertaining and sharing. The cake is pretty, it sits up nice and tall, and slices easily. It would be a great choice for a fall brunch, or for sharing at work, etc.

The recipe is tried and true. You can’t go wrong with this cake, so grab those pears while you can and get baking!

Pear Coffee Cake

5 from 1 vote

My fluffy fresh pear coffee cake with a crunchy toasted pecan streusel goes with your morning or after dinner coffee!

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Prep Time:15 minutes minutes

Cook Time:55 minutes minutes

Total Time:1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

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Equipment

• 9 inch spring form pan buy it here.

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

streusel topping

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 4 Tbsp salted butter, at room temperature and cut in small pieces
• 1/2 cup pecans that have been roasted* and finely chopped

coffee cake

• 1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup golden brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 3/4 cup buttermilk or drinkable yogurt, if cold I zap it for 30 seconds in the microwave.
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups peeled and diced pears , tossed with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent browning.

custard sauce, optional

• 5 large egg yolks
• 5 Tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk or half and half
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375F Grease a 9 inch spring form pan.
• Mix the streusel together in a bowl, using your fingertips to work the butter in to the flour, sugar, and pecans until the butter is evenly dispersed and the mixture is crumbly. Take the time to make sure this is thoroughly combined. Set aside.
• Start the cake batter: cream the butter and sugar together for a few minutes until light and fluffy either in a stand mixer or by hand in a large bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Beat in the egg until completely incorporated, scraping down the bowl again. Then beat in the buttermilk, vanilla, and spices. The mixture may look slightly curdled, that's fine.
• Blend in the baking powder and salt, then fold in the flour. Finally fold in the diced pears, stirring just enough to get them evenly distributed. Turn the batter into your prepared pan and smooth out evenly. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top, making sure to get into the edges, too.
• Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until just beginning to turn golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it (moist crumbs are fine.) My cake took 48 minutes.
• Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then gently loosen and remove the sides. The cake can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.

to make the optional custard sauce

• Bring the milk or half and half just to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile whisk the yolks and sugar until well combined. Drizzle a little of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking all the time. Drizzle a little more, then transfer that back into the pan of hot milk and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Do this slowly, over medium heat, and I like to use a silicone spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan as it heats. The mixture will become velvety and thickend, but it will not be as thick as pudding. Don't overcook or let it boil because it will curdle. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. 
• Pour the custard through a sieve (to catch any stray lumps) into a heat proof jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface so it won't form a skin as it cools. It can be used warm or chilled. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Notes

*Roast pecans on a plate for 2 minutes in the microwave or on a baking sheet for 10-12 minutes in a 350F oven.

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: baking, breakfast cake, brunch, cake, coffee cake, fall, pears

Nutrition

Calories: 405 kcal · Carbohydrates: 56 g · Protein: 5 g · Fat: 19 g · Saturated Fat: 10 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 57 mg · Sodium: 258 mg · Potassium: 230 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 30 g · Vitamin A: 491 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 88 mg · Iron: 2 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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