Spiced Chocolate Pear Cake

As we head into the holiday season, it's time to bake up all things spiced and cozy. This spiced chocolate pear cake is made from a rich, super chocolate-y spiced cake, topped with fresh pears and a crunchy hazelnut streusel. It's the perfect cake for breakfast, or as a delicious alternative to pie on your holiday dessert table!

In a few words, this spiced chocolate cake is:

• Rich
• Moist
• Full of chocolate flavor.
• Sweet
• Filled with soft, floral pears.
• Topped with crunchy spiced hazelnut streusel.
• Cozy and comforting
• The perfect cake for a holiday breakfast, brunch or casual dessert. Looking for another stunning cake that's perfect for birthdays and holidays? Check out my Matilda's Chocolate Cake.

What ingredients do I need to make this cake?

• All purpose flour
• Light brown sugar
• Hazelnuts
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground ginger
• Unsalted butter
• Cake flour
• Dutch process cocoa powder
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Canola, olive or other neutral oil
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Whole milk
• Sour cream
• Pears
• Chocolate hazelnut spread

From these ingredients you will make the spiced chocolate pear cake, the spiced hazelnut streusel and optional chocolate hazelnut drizzle.

What baking tools do I need to make this streusel topped chocolate cake?

• A whisk, spoon or flexible spatula and several mixing bowls 
• 9 in (23cm) springfrom pan
  • This is the preferred pan for this cake as it makes removing the cake from the pan much easier.
  • Or use a 9X9 pan lined with parchment paper along at least two sides instead. 
• Parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan. 
  • Alternatively, it helps to lift the cake from the pan if using a square pan.
• Vegetable peeler or small knife for peeling and slicing pears. 
• Food thermometer a good way to check the doneness of the cake.

Natural cocoa powder vs. dutch process cocoa powder

Does it even matter? Yes, the difference lies in the way the unsweetened powders are prepared. 

• Natural unsweetened cocoa powder: This is basically ground up cocoa beans. Natural cocoa powder is acidic and bitter. It is considered an acid, which means it is often used in recipes that call for baking powder (a base). This creates a reaction and allows the baked good to rise. 
• Dutch process cocoa powder: This is ground up cocoa beans that have been washed in alkaline solution of potassium carbonate. This neutralizes the beans. Meaning, they will not reaction with baking soda. Therefore, its best to use this when baking a recipe with baking powder. This powder is darker in color and more mellow in flavor. 
• Black cocoa powder: This is cocoa powder that has been heavily dutched. It has a very strong flavor, but due to the dutch process, it is not bitter. It is very dark in color. For this reason, its most often used as a color booster with dutch process cocoa.

Tips and tricks for a perfectly delicious spiced pear cake: 

Best substitutions for this recipe:

• All purpose flour: for a gluten free option, I recommend
  • the 1:1 flour from Bob’s Red Mill
  • or measure for measure from King Arthur Baking Co. 
• Cake flour: make a DIY version using all purpose and cornstarch 
  • See recipe notes for how to do this.
  • To make a GF cake flour, sub with one of the listed subs above and follow the notes in the recipe to make it cake flour.
• Pears: we are currently in prime pear season, but the pears could be substitued with figs, blackberries, raspberries or cranberries.
• Espresso, ground cinnamon and ginger: These are all flavor enhancers. 
  • I highly recommend using all if you can. If not, you can easily use all cinnamon or all ginger.  
  • Omit the instant espresso powder if you need to.
• Sugar: Use an alternative sugar if its one you baked with already. I LOVE using maple sugar
• Hazelnuts: Feel free to use almost any nut in it's place.
  • Have a nut allergy? You can also completely omit the nuts in the streusel.

Tips and tricks for this spiced chocolate pear cake:

• Read through the recipe before starting. 
• Use a “light hand” when folding the ingredients together. 
• Look for the signs the cake is done rather than stick strictly to the baking times. 
  • The sides will pull gently from the edges of the pan.
  • If it looks wet, the cake will need to bake another 10-20 minutes. 
  • The top will be golden brown, but not burned.
  • A toothpick inserted into the center will come out with a few moist crumbs. 
  • If it's “gummy” with a few crumbs, it needs about 5-10 more minutes. 
• Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for no more than 30 minutes. 
• Cool the cake out of the pan to room temperature on a cooling rack. 
• Enjoy the cake as it or drizzle with warmed chocolate hazelnut spread. I highly recommend the drizzle!

other delicious chocolate treats to try!

• red wine brownies
• no bake brownies (vegan)
• small chocolate cake
• chocolate olive oil loaf cake
• citrus olive oil brownies
• chocolate fig loaf cake
• triple chocolate lavender brownies
• tahini swirl olive oil brownies

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