Have you ever put a pear in your purse? It always starts with the best of intentions. Mid-morning snack. Afternoon fruit break. Nope… it’s never going to be any of those. It’s going to get bruised by your wallet and smashed up against some loose pens. It never goes as well as you’d like it to.
Bad idea.
Better idea? Pear in coffee cake.
This coffee cake is tender, spiced with Fall, and pear-studded. So much better than bruised and pen-stabbed, right!?
Let’s melt our butter and get this show on the road.
The flavors of brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg shine! Buttermilk is our great tenderizer, whisked together with melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Pretty simple!
Pears are important. I used Bartlett, but grab any pear that makes you happy.
It’s important that the pear be ripe, but not overly soft. It’s best if they can hold their shape in the oven.
Wet meets dry and pear chunks are stirred in.
I like to layer a few pears on top of the batter. This is a more-is-more situation.
Crumble topping! Everything is better with crumble. This topping is extra buttery and sweet.
Be generous.
Be kind.
We just turned cake into breakfast. It’s one of those easy things to do if you make a big pot of coffee and enjoy this cake before noon. This cake is soft, sweet, and loaded with soft pear pieces. It’s Fall. This is totally one of those things you should just do.
Pear Crumble Coffee Cake
makes an 8×8-inch square pan
For the Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flours
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 small or 1 1/2 medium pears, ripe but still firm, unpeeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
For the Crumble Topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated or brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8-inch square. Line with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spice. Stir in the sugars until well combined. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently stir to incorporate. Once the dry ingredients are almost fully incorporated, fold in the pears. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
To make the crumble, in a small bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter. Use your fingers to break the butter down into the dry ingredients until crumbly. Generously sprinkle topping on top of cake batter.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Cake will last for 3 days, wrapped well and stored in the refrigerator.
Gabby (Quest for Delicious)
Never had a pear in my purse, but have definitely had a banana in my purse, resulting in an equally poor (if not worse) outcome.
Cake looks amazing!
Amy /// The Anxious Hippie
REEEEEAAALLLLLL CROWD PLEASER
joythebaker
you know.
The Jewish Hostess
A refreshing twist on apple crumble! Love your photos and story that goes along with it!
Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs
Mmmmm this coffee cake is calling to me — now if I could just stay home from work and make it… :)
Belinda @themoonblushbaker
imagine having wet pear in school back pack. My daily discovery every time I took pear to primary school. Eugh this pretty cake is enough to make me want to grow my own pears!
In a Trendy Town
Nice recipe, we have made it with apple!
https://inatrendytown.blogspot.com.es/
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Have you ever put a pear on your purse? <— Yes, I have. When my daughter was teething, her fave thing was to gnaw on a pear. I have had more bruised, drippy, messy pears in my life than I can tell you. Way better to bake them into this gorgeous cake! I love the slices you arranged on top right before burying them with the crumbly bits. Pinned!
Ellen
I agree. Everything IS better with crumble topping.
Gracie
YUM! Marvelous combination. Pears are so refreshing. And coffee cake is wonderful 24/7! :)
https://sometimesgracefully.com
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile
I don’t know what’s more beautiful… the photos or the actual cake!! This sounds divine and I will definitely be trying it out myself! How do you think little mini cakes would go? I was thinking they could be cute as individual desserts. I’d love to know what you think!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
Cake into breakfast = yes! Love all that crumble goodness!
Rebecca @ Dorm Room Baker
As someone who has left pears and other fruit in her backpack and forgotten about them, let me just say that this cake looks like perfect solution–not to mention extremely delicious.