Name: Ginger-Pear Bundt Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan; 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 1 3/4 cups packed dark-brown sugar; 1/4 cup honey; 4 large eggs; 1/2 cup milk; 1 cup of pear-ginger sauce (store bought pear sauce/preserves or homemade); 8 ounces of cream cheese; 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; 4-6 Tablespoons of cream (milk would be fine too); 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

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Change up your traditional Thanksgiving desserts with this Ginger Pear Bundt Cake. This warmly spiced cake is topped with a cream cheese frosting.

Overhead photo of ginger pear Bundt cake with cream cheese frosting.

Welcome to November! This month’s bundt-baking-get-together, hosted by Baker Street and Cake Duchess has the theme of SPICE. When I came across this recipe for a pear-spice bundt cake by Martha Stewart, I knew I was ready to start baking!

The recipe was based on a caramel-pear sauce that was made with fresh pears and sugar then it was incorporated into the cake batter.

I was one step ahead of the game as I had a homemade ginger pear sauce. I changed the spices slightly but basically stuck with the cake recipe and then finished with a cream cheese icing.

The cake was dense but in a good way, filled with bits of pear and hints of ginger then cooled with the cream cheese frosting.

This would be perfect to serve on a Thanksgiving dessert buffet as an alternative to the traditional pies. You’ll find it will be requested for years to come!

Yield: 16

Ginger-Pear Bundt Cake

A beautiful, seasonal Bundt cake for the autumn through Thanksgiving and Christmas topped with a cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 3/4 cups packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup of pear-ginger sauce (store bought pear sauce/preserves or homemade)

Cream Cheese Icing:

8 ounces of cream cheese
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
4-6 Tablespoons of cream (milk would be fine too)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare Bundt pan with cooking spray and a dusting of flour (or very fine bread crumbs).
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, baking soda, and nutmeg with a whisk in a bowl. Set the bowl aside.
With an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and honey for a few minutes then add the eggs one at a time. Now on low speed, alternate adding the flour and the milk to the batter. Once it is mixed well, turn off the mixer and fold in the pear sauce.
The batter will be thick. Spoon it into your prepared Bundt pan. Cook for 35-40 minutes, covering the top with foil around 25-30 minutes if it appears to brown too much. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a plate. Let it cool completely before adding the optional (but really tasty) icing.
Using an electric mixer, combine the ingredients, starting by whipping the cream cheese on its own for a few minutes. Next add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and cream (or milk). If the icing is too thick then add more milk one Tablespoon at a time.

Notes

Recipe adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe.

If you don't have or want to make the pear sauce, use apple sauce for a similar result.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 414Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 345mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 1gSugar: 34gProtein: 6g

This data is provided by Nutritionix and is an estimate only.

Kitchen Tools I used in this Recipe:

Nordic Ware Bundt Pan

More favorite Bundt recipes:

If you like making Bundt cakes, you’ll enjoy these recipes too!

Orange Creamsicle Bundt

Mango Bundt Cake

Chocolate and Wine Bundt

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Holly Baker

Holly Baker started the food blog, A Baker’s House, in 2011. She is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer for the site. Holly loves to bake and shares recipes for gluten free food, canning recipes, as well as traditional desserts too. Her recipes and food photography have been highlighted by BuzzFeed, Reader’s Digest, and She Knows.

Laura

Tuesday 13th of November 2012

That is seriously gorgeous icing on that cake! Delicious!

Holly @ abakershouse.com

Thanks, Laura, the icing was a lot easier than it looks-- just pull a bit of icing with a small spatula all the way around the cake in small strokes. thanks for stopping by!

Grandbabycakes

Monday 12th of November 2012

This is seriously such an amazing cake idea! I add this to my Thanksgiving dessert round up

I really appreciate that you included my cake-- your site is beautiful. Glad I've found it now!

Lea Ann (Cooking on The Ranch)

Saturday 10th of November 2012

My gosh Holly...what a beautiful cake. I'm very impressed. Not to mention it sounds delicious. You know, if I started driving around I might eventually find your house, and this cake. :)

thanks, Lea Ann, I would love to share the next time I make a big cake like this. I shared half of this cake with a friend who had family coming to dinner and easily ate the other half myself!!

Kim Bee

Thursday 8th of November 2012

This is gorgeous. I love ginger with pear. Your frosting just takes my breath away. So beautiful.

Gingered Whisk

This looks like a fantastic cake! Love that frosting, too!