Pear Recipe: Pear Streusal Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel and Chocolate Drizzle

It’s pear season and therefore it’s time to come up with a pear recipe or two or three to do justice to these delightful fruits of Fall. I must admit that I like pears more than apples, so I really look forward to when the trees start to ripen. Recently I shared a recipe for Pear Pie with a Pistachio Crumb Topping that was delicious.  If you search the blog you will also find a recipe for Ginger Spiced Pear Jam but today, it’s all about cake. 

I didn’t want just a plain cake though, so I thought adding a layer of streusel would be just the thing. That certainly dressed up the cake on the inside, but it still needed a little something on the outside. I went with two flavors that pair well with pear – caramel and chocolate. All in all, it was a delicious cake that I will surely make again.

Pear Recipe: Pear Streusel Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel and Chocolate Drizzle

Serves 10 – 12

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature or 1/2 cup milk mixed with 1/2 cup sour cream
2 medium pears, cored, peeled and cut into 1/4″ dice

For the Streusel:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 TBS unsalted butter

1/4 cup salted caramel (or make your own recipe HERE)

Preheat oven to 350°

Make the streusel:

Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
Add the melted butter and stir until well mixed.
Set aside.

Make the cake:
Butter a 12 cup bundt pan and dust with flour.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time mixing well after each addition.
Add the vanilla and mix well.
Add the flour mixture in thirds and buttermilk or sour cream/milk in halves alternating between the two beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Fold in the pears.

Add half of the batter to the prepared pan.
Sprinkle in the streusel mixture, squeezing it to make chunks.
Top with the other half of the batter.
Bake in the preheated oven for 55 – 60 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

If you are going to make your own salted caramel do it while the cake is baking. I have a recipe with a video on how to make salted caramel
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and then remove the cake from the pan and cool completely.
When ready to serve melt the chips and butter together.

Drizzle the cake with the chocolate, then the caramel then the chocolate again.

How Was the Pear Recipe?

This cake was truly something special—moist, tender, and bursting with the sweetness of ripe, juicy pears in every bite. It’s the kind of dessert that doesn’t require a huge slice to satisfy; each bite is rich with flavor. The chocolate and salted caramel beautifully balance the fruit, adding just the right touch of indulgence to an otherwise simple, rustic cake.

What I really love about this recipe is that it can be altered in so many ways. You can add apples instead of pears. You can forgo the streusal (but why would you?). It’s very versatile. If you have a lot of pears and need something else to bake try a Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourboned Pears or Pear Coffee Cake with Chocolate and Oat Streusal. If you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of streusel.