Cardamom and White Wine Poached Pear Cake

“So glad to live in a world where there are Octobers.”

To continue my Fall recipes, I’m bringing you guys this yummy cake today. The pears are poached in white wine and cardamom and all the good Fall spices. I could just eat the pears all on their own (I had to stop myself). Then they’re baked into a cake with fresh apples and pears grated right into it. I’m sure you’ll love Fall after making this cake!

The Pears

3 Bosc pears, peeled

1/2 bottle pinot grigio

4 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

3 cloves

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat for a half hour. If the pears are not completely covered, make sure to spoon the liquid over the pears every few minutes and turn them as well. Remove and allow to cool on a plate before cutting off a bit of the bottom to make sure they stand up straight in the cake.

The Cakes

(makes 2 six inch cakes)

1 apple, peeled and grated

1 pear, peeled and grated

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

Spray two 6-inch  springform pans with non-stick baking spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Combine butter and sugar in stand mixer until smooth. Add eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and almond extract and mix in. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in 3 parts while mixing. Add in the grated fruit until combined. Pour into prepared pans. Take the three poached pears and place into the batter in one of the pans – make sure they are touching the bottom of the pan and can stand on their own. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes. My cake without the pears took 50 minutes. My cake with the pears took a little over an hour. Don’t worry if your cake with the pears appears lighter and more moist on top – it’s because of the moisture coming out of the poached pears.

Chocolate Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup heavy cream

Beat butter in stand mixer until smooth. Combine sugar and cocoa in a separate bowl, then add in 1/2 cups to butter while mixing. Add vanilla and heavy cream, and mix to desired consistency. Should be smooth and strong enough to hold its shape for piping.

Assembly

Use the closed star tip to pipe one layer of small swirls of the chocolate buttercream on the cake without the pears, starting from the outside, going in. Once that is done, place the second cake (the one with the pears), on top of the other. And you’re done! If you’d like to decorate a bit, I just topped with some powdered sugar, dried rose petals, and a bit of white chocolate ganache drip.