Chocolate-Cinnamon Pear Loaf Cake

Name: Chocolate-Cinnamon Pear Loaf Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Ingredients: 3 8 ounces Bartlett pears, peeled; 2 cups water; ¼ cup granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon orange juice; 1 3-inch stick cinnamon; 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour; ¾ cup packed brown sugar; ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 egg; 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*; ½ cup olive oil; 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 3 ounces white baking chocolate, melted; Finely shredded orange peel (optional)

15 Ratings
6 Reviews

Poached pears take center stage in this cinnamony loaf cake. Try substituting sour milk (milk with lemon juice or vinegar) for buttermilk.

By Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen

Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Gallery

Credit: Andy Lyons

Recipe Summary

prep:

20 mins

cook:

20 mins

bake:

50 mins

cool:

10 mins

total:

1 hr 40 mins

Servings:

Nutrition Info

Directions

Poached Pears:

Step 1
Core the pears from the bottom, leaving the stems intact. In a large saucepan combine the water, 1/4 cup sugar, orange juice and cinnamon stick. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add pears. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until pears are tender. Remove from heat. Discard liquid and cinnamon stick. Cool pears.

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Step 2
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a large bowl combine the 1 2/3 cups flour, brown sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, baking powder, 1 tsp. cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl whisk together egg, buttermilk, and olive oil. Add to flour mixture. Whisk until smooth.

Bread:

Step 1
Pour batter into prepared pan. In a small, shallow dish combine 1 Tbsp. flour, 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Roll each pear in the flour mixture to lightly coat. Place pears, stem sides up, down the center of the batter (pears will be exposed at the top, but the batter will rise up around them during baking). Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean Remove; cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely.
Step 2
To serve, drizzle melted white chocolate over loaf. Garnish with orange peel, if desired.

*Sour Milk:

To make sour milk, place 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar in a 1-cup glass measure. Add milk to make 1 cup; stir well. Let stand 5 minutes before using.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

352 calories; fat 15g; cholesterol 21mg; saturated fat 4g; carbohydrates 53g; mono fat 9g; poly fat 1g; insoluble fiber 4g; sugars 30g; protein 5g; vitamin a 78.3IU; vitamin c 3.6mg; thiamin 0.2mg; riboflavin 0.2mg; niacin equivalents 1.5mg; vitamin b6 0.1mg; folate 49.3mcg; vitamin b12 0.1mcg; sodium 274mg; potassium 246mg; calcium 103mg; iron 2mg.

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Better Homes & Gardens Member

06/26/2014

I just made it and it's cooling now. How on earth did the core the pear as it looks on the picture ? it's like they used a melon baller, but since the recipe calls for whole pears, that's impossible. This is the first time ever I used olive oil in a cake ? so far so good............I'll give a taste review later.

Better Homes & Gardens Member

12/17/2013

This recipe was easy to make and delicious. Hardest part was coring the pears. I did substitute regular chocolate for the white chocolate. Also, save the pear water for a delicious drink- by itself or with ginger ale.

Better Homes & Gardens Member

11/30/2013

My cake turned out moist because I tripled the number of pears and sliced them all in quarters. However, the cake tasted bitter, metallic, acidic even. I trekked this cake all the way from Manhattan to Boston for Thanksgiving with my roommate's big Italian family, who are like family to me. They all tasted it and were very supportive....not because they liked my nasty cake but because they love me. #DontBakeThisNastyCake

Better Homes & Gardens Member

11/29/2013

My cake also did not rise above the pears and ended up looking unappealing on top. The parts of the cake that had direct contact with the pears was nice and moist from some liquid that seemed to seep out of the pears. The rest of the cake was dry and dense. If I were to make this again, I would also chop up the pears so that they are more evenly distributed throughout the cake.

Better Homes & Gardens Member

11/09/2013

I tried this...and the pears did not bake into the cake....they sort of rose up with the batter as it baked. So I flipped it upside down so it was a smooth top, then drizzled the chocolate (the other way was NOT pretty!) We'll see how it tastes in a few hours!

Better Homes & Gardens Member

10/28/2013

This was delicious! I didn't have a big enough loaf pan so I used a bundt pan. It didn't turn out as pretty as the picture but the flavor was there. Next time I think I'll cut the pears into quarters (yes I know one of the best things about this was that it had whole pears) but I ended up with places where it was just cake and no pears. I frosted mine with cream cheese frosting and it was wonderful. The chocolate cake itself was amazing. I think I'll use the cake recipe for future chocolate cakes.

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Chocolate-Cinnamon Pear Loaf Cake

Gallery

Recipe Summary

Ingredients

Directions

*Sour Milk:

Nutrition Facts

Reviews (6)

All Reviews for Chocolate-Cinnamon Pear Loaf Cake

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Chocolate-Cinnamon Pear Loaf Cake

Gallery

Recipe Summary

Ingredients

Directions

*Sour Milk:

Nutrition Facts

Reviews (6)

All Reviews for Chocolate-Cinnamon Pear Loaf Cake