Chocolate Pear Cake

This chocolate pear cake shows how surprisingly well rich chocolate and juicy, tender pears go together. The pears fold into a one-bowl chocolate batter, baking up sweet and warmly spiced with ginger and cinnamon.

It's an easy, comforting cake that's simple to slice for a snack or serve warm for dessert, and thanks to the oil and fruit, it stays soft for days. This unique chocolate and pear combination might just become your go-to for fall baking.

Ingredients

Pears - Use fresh, ripe but firm pears for the best flavor and texture. Peel and chop them into small dice (about ¼ inch cubes) before weighing or measuring. I often use Bosc or Bartlett pears.

Vegetable oil - A neutral oil keeps the cake tender and moist, and makes the batter easy to stir together by hand.

Granulated sugar - Adds sweetness and helps form a lightly crisp, golden top.

Brown sugar - Light brown sugar provides caramel flavor and additional moisture.

Eggs - Large eggs should be at room temperature to help the batter come together and rise properly.

Vanilla extract - Use pure vanilla extract, or swap 1:1 with vanilla paste for a richer flavor.

All purpose flour - I recommend weighing flour with a digital scale for consistent results. If you don't have one, fluff the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level with a knife.

Cocoa powder - I use natural cocoa powder (not alkalized Dutch) here. It's fruity and acidic, giving a warm, lively chocolate flavor that complements the pears.

Baking powder - Gives the cake a light, tender rise.

Ginger - Ground ginger adds a warm, spicy kick without overpowering the cake.

Cinnamon - Ground cinnamon adds cozy warmth.

Espresso powder - A small amount of espresso powder (optional) adds a smoky depth to the chocolate without any noticeable coffee flavor.

Kosher salt - I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in my recipes.

Instructions

These photos provide basic visual cues. Find detailed instructions for making chocolate pear cake in the recipe card.

Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy removal.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and espresso powder.

Whisk dry ingredients together until fully combined. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine oil and granulated sugar. Mix well.

Add eggs, vanilla and salt, mixing well until smooth.

Peel, core and cut pears into ¼ inch dice.

Weigh or measure your pears and place into a medium size bowl.

Add a heaping tablespoon of the flour mixture to the pears.

Coating the diced pears in flour mixture prevents them from sinking to the bottom as the cake bakes.

Toss the pears to coat them with the flour mixture.

Add the remaining flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

Fold the flour into the wet ingredients until just incorporated.

Fold in the diced pears.

Pour batter into pan, ensuring pears are evenly distributed and batter extends to corners of pan.

Bake 60-65 minutes. Top should be set, and tester inserted into crumb between pears should come out clean.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

Equipment

8-inch square metal pan - For perfectly baked snack cakes, I use and recommend the 8 x 8 inch square pan made by USA Pan. It's my go-to for its straight, clean edges and even heating.

A note on pan material: Glass and metal pans conduct heat very differently.

• Metal pans: Heat up quickly and create light, crispy edges.
• Glass pans: Take longer to heat up and retain heat longer, which can lead to overbaked edges.

If you only have a glass pan, you may need to experiment by lowering the oven temperature by 25°F and extending the bake time by 5-10 minutes.

For more on how different materials affect your baking, see King Arthur Baking's guide on choosing the right bakeware.

More simple cake recipes