My Pear and Ginger Cake is an easy, adaptable recipe that the whole family is sure to love. It’s perfect for afternoon tea, or as a dessert with cream or ice cream. You can also serve it as a traditional British pudding with custard. There’s a gluten-free option too!
Seriously easy to make, the only complex bit about Pear and Ginger Cake is cutting the slices of pear for the top of the cake. They really do look lovely arranged in a circular pattern on top. It’s not a deal breaker though. If you are having one of those days when cutting slices of pear is a step too far, just chop the pears and fold them into the batter. It will still taste amazing. I’d only use 2 pears in this case though, so the cake doesn’t become too moist.
This recipe evolved from my Easy Plum Cake Recipe, but it has a character all of its own. As I mentioned above, it’s one of those cakes that you really can serve anytime – I wouldn’t say no to a slice for breakfast either!
Add Ginger To Taste
This Pear and Ginger Cake recipe is so adaptable! If you love ginger like I do, you’ll want to use two and a half teaspoons of ground ginger for the recipe. Not so sure about ginger? Just use a teaspoon, or leave it out entirely and just call the recipe Pear Cake instead. If you do choose to leave out the ginger, you might want to change the almond flavouring to vanilla extract to really accentuate th flavour of the pears.
Can Pear and Ginger Cake Be Made Gluten-Free?
Yes! My lovely cousin Larissa made the cake with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour and got beautiful results. Click here to see her Instagram post! Larissa also recommended using lemon juice instead of water in the glaze, which sounds like a wonderful idea to me!
Can You Use Canned Pears in Pear and Ginger Cake?
I prefer to use fresh pears for my Pear and Ginger Cake as they are firmer. If you do use canned pears, be sure to drain them really thoroughly or the cake will be too moist. I would also just chop the canned pears and fold them through the cake batter as they are likely to sink if you put them on top. I think in this case, I would definitely glaze the cake to make it look a bit prettier, although there is nothing wrong with a plain cake if you do not have time.
If you use canned pears for this recipe, I suggest using just under a cup of chopped pear pieces.
Decorating Pear and Ginger Cake
The pears arranged on top make this cake really pretty, but it’s extra special with a glaze. I just use a mixture of icing sugar and water or lemon juice and drizzle it all over the cake. Again, don’t get hung up over this. There are no rules for drizzling!
Serving Pear and Ginger Cake
The possibilities for serving this cake are endless. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the cake tastes delicious plain but it is also a great idea to serve the cake with a jug of custard or cream alongside for people to help themselves to. Alternatively, a scoop of good vanilla ice cream or luscious whipped cream on the side tastes delicious.I love Pear and Ginger Cake with ginger ice cream, or use vanilla instead and top with salted caramel sauce. The cake is lovely garnished with raspberries or strawberries when they are in season.
Pear and Ginger Cake – Printable Recipe
Pear and Ginger Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the pan
- ¾ cup white sugar either granulated or caster sugar is fine
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons almond flavouring
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour or Bob's Red Mill 1 – 1 Gluten Free Flour all purpose flour is also known as plain flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder use gluten-free baking powder if required
- 2 teaspoons ginger Depending on how much you like ginger you can use between 1 and 3 teaspoons.
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk ordinary milk will also work but buttermilk gives a lovely flavour
- 2 to 3 medium pears, one peeled and chopped, the others peeled and sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice most lemons will yield about 2 tablespoons of juice
- 2 tablespoons Demerera sugar for garnish If you do not have Demerera sugar (also known as Turbinado sugar) you can use white sugar instead
- 1½ cups icing sugar Icing sugar is also known as confectioners sugar or powdered sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water or lemon juice you may need slightly more or less
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (170°C or 160°C for fan/convection ovens).
- Grease the bottom and sides of an 8 inch (21cm) loose-bottomed cake pan.
- Peel the pears, one at a time. Chop the first pear and put it in a small bowl. Toss the chopped pear pieces in half the lemon juice to prevent them turning brown. Cut the remaining pears into slices, and place in another small bowl. Add the remaining lemon juice to this bowl and toss the pear slices gently so they remain intact. Set both bowls aside.
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together.
- Add the eggs and almond flavouring and beat for a minute or so.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix well.
- Pour in the buttermilk and beat until the cake mixture is smooth.
- Gently fold in the chopped pear only.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top.
- Arrange the sliced pears on top of the cake in a circular fashion. Don't get stressed about this, it doesn't need to be perfect!
- Sprinkle the top of the cake with the Demerera sugar.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean and the top of the cake is beginning to turn golden.
- Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.
- When the cake pan is cool enough to handle, release the springs and gently remove the sides. You can leave the cake on the metal base of the cake pan to serve it. (However, if you are feeling brave, you can remove it by sliding a knife very carefully between the cake and the metal base. Use a large slice or egg lifter to transfer it to the wire rack to cool completely.)
- When the cake is completely cool, it's ready to glaze. Put the icing sugar in a bowl and gradually add the water, a bit at a time, until a smooth, drizzle-able consistency is reached.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cake.
- Let the glaze set before slicing the cake.
did you make this recipe?
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More Delicious Pear Recipes
Nigella’s Chocolate Pear Pudding Cake With a Twist
Crock Pot Pear and Apple Sauce
Comments & Reviews
Love pears love ginger! This looks and sounds absolutely delicious 🙂
Thank you, Julie! I hope your week is off to a good start 🙂
This looks delicious, April!
Thank you, Donna! Have a lovely week 🙂
April,
I love the combination of pear and ginger. Sounds like a wonderful spice cake!
Thank you so much, Judee! Pear and ginger are one of my favourite flavour combinations as well 🙂
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Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
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Thank you for pinning and sharing, Marilyn! Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #OverTheMoon this week. Each Hostess displays their own features so be sure to visit me on Sunday evening and to see your feature! I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon. Please don’t forget to add your link numbers or post title so we can be sure to visit!
Thank you so much for the feature, Marilyn! I’m 5 hours behind EST here in the UK but I’ll be over first thing in my morning 🙂 I really appreciate it! Have a wonderful week!
Oh, this gives me such a fall feeling! I love it when pears finally start showing up at the farmers market and anything baked with ginger always makes me think of the holidays. I’ll definitely be making this one to share with family!
Thank you, Rachael. I hope you enjoy it!
Pear sounds so refreshing. I’ve only had juices made with it, never a cake.
It really is, Alexandra. I use pear in a lot of recipes, partly because it is one of my husband’s favourite fruits 🙂
I’ve made it my mission to add more pears to my life because I feel like they’re an underrated fruit! And this recipe is just one more to try out this weekend, so thank you – will try to remember to snap pics!
Pears are definitely a favourite in our house, Jenny. I love how versatile they are 🙂 I hope you love the cake as much as we do – and if you do have time, I would love for you to share your photos 🙂
We will just love your Pear and Ginger Cake, a great combination! Thanks for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday, 556!
Miz Helen
Thank you so much, Miz Helen!
This looks so good! I have not baked anything with pears, but I might have to try this.
Thank you, Barbara. They are really easy to bake with!
April, I love the simple ingredients and beautiful presentation of this cake! I imagine it would be perfect for many different occasions!
Thank you so much, Leslie! I have been meaning to update the recipe actually, to say it can be made gluten-free. I haven’t tested it myself yet, by my cousin made it with gluten-free flour and she said it was lovely. 🙂
April, I was thinking the same!
Hi Leslie, I’ve just updated the post – thank you for reminding me/encouraging me to do it!
Sounds like a rich and complex flavor combination! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I’m glad you like the sound of it, Michele! Thank you!
You have me the moment you said GF option.
I visited you via your own Link Party
My entries this month #142+143.
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Esme! Thank you!