Sweet and fragrant with a maple-cream cheese icing, this Pear Cardamom Cake is a beautiful and comforting dessert. Great for holiday entertaining!Inspired by "Spiced Apple Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Icing," Giada De Laurentiis, Happy Cooking (Pam Krauss Books, 2015)
2pears(about 3 cups fruit), peeled, cored, and cut into a ¼ to ½-inch dice
1-½cupspure maple syrup
3largeeggs, room temperature
¾cuplight brown sugar
¾cupvegetable oil
3cupsall purpose flour, divided
1-½teaspoonsbaking powder
1-½teaspoonsbaking soda
2teaspoonsground cinnamon
1teaspoonground cardamom*
½teaspoonkosher salt
1cupchopped pecans, toasted
To make the icing
1cupconfectioners' sugar
3tablespoonspure maple syrup
¼cupheavy cream
4ouncescream cheese, room temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1tablespooncool water, plus extra, as needed
Instructions
Make the cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in middle position. Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together maple syrup, eggs, oil, and brown sugar until very smooth. (You can also use a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium-low speed for convenience.)
In a medium bowl, toss diced pears with 2 tablespoons flour. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 3 additions until combined. Fold in pears and pecans.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing and serve
In a blender or food processor, process confectioners' sugar, maple syrup, heavy cream, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon water until smooth, scraping bowl as needed. Add additional cool water 1 teaspoon at a time until the icing is a pourable consistency. Pour icing over the cooled cake and let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
*The strength of your cardamom will vary by brand and freshness. If you don't like a prominent cardamom flavor, or if the particular brand of cardamom you're using is extremely aromatic, decrease to ½ teaspoon. If your cardamom is very mild, consider increasing to your personal spice preference.