I’m not gonna lie; I was a little let down when this month’s #BundtBakers pear theme was announced by Lauren of Sew You Think You Can Cook. Pears are pretty dull. They are probably one of the few fruits that I just don’t get. I mean really, they have like no flavor. Am I the only one that notices this? They’re like the lima beans of the fruit world. Sure, every once and awhile you get that one super duper expensive Harry & David Pear that tastes crazy good and is perfectly ripe, but for the most part, pears suck the big one. They have a weird texture, are most often blander than cardboard, and good luck getting one to perfectly ripen before it turns to absolute mush. However, recently, when I meandered into the Fruit Bowl, one of my favorite childhood haunts, during a trip to visit my big brother’s graveside on the second anniversary of his death, a basket of pears miraculously called out to me. Before I knew what was happening, I grabbed up a basket of gorgeous green pears for a price that would be absolutely unheard of in Northern Virginia, delicately placed them in the back of my VW, drove home like a bat out of hell (God bless Maryland’s 70-ahem-79-mile-per-hour speed limit), and then dropped those little hard as a rock beauties into the fruit bin of our refrigerator. Three weeks later, those pears were still there, and oddly enough, just beginning to ripen. At this point, I took it as a sign from God that he did indeed have a plan for those pears and that Lauren’s pear theme was truly meant to be.
This month, I was bound and determined that my Bundt wouldn’t be a complete failure like last month’s was, mostly because I had absolutely no desire to clean up after that sort of catastrophe again. Instead, I decided to stick with a basic thick-battered fruit cake recipe, add a little touch of rum, a big handful of raisins, and throw in some of those gorgeous chopped pears. Thankfully, the cake itself turned out beautifully, which is always a 50/50 challenge when it comes to Bundt cakes. Sometimes those little suckers just don’t want to be parted from their pans. I get it. It’s like those cold autumn mornings when you’re all snug as a bug in a rug, only to be rudely awakened by the alarm going off, malevolently reminding you that it’s time to get your ass up and go to work. Why leave the warm comfort of where you are, for the cold reality of what’s beyond? In this case, the cake obviously knew that it was going to be drowned in a mix of sugar, even more rum, raisins, vanilla, and a healthy dose of melted butter, because it popped right out of that pan as if screaming, “Hit me with what you’re got lady, I can take it.” Hell, I think I’d happily pop out of bed every morning if sugar, rum, and melted butter were involved. Who wouldn’t want to begin the day like that? As for the pears in this cake, well, they’re in there. Trust me; I swear I remember peeling and chopping them. However, tasting them is a whole other thing entirely. Now, that doesn’t mean that this cake is completely disgusting. Hell, if I’m being honest, it actually tastes pretty gosh darn amazing. It has a sweet fruit flavor and texture, however, figuring out what fruit flavor that it has is a little tricky. I’m fairly convinced that pears speak a language that is all their own, and that maybe, just maybe, my taste buds speak an entirely different language, or in this case, are completely stone-cold deaf.
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 Cup Golden Raisins
- 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 1 1/2 Cups Canola Oil
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Dark Rum
- 3 1/2 Cups Pears, Peeled & Chopped
Icing:
- 1/4 Cup Golden Raisins
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Dark Rum
- 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 to 5 Teaspoons Water
Directions:
Cake:
- Grease and flour a large Bundt pan; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and raisins; set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the sugars and oil together with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add each egg, one at a time, mixing 30 seconds after the addition of each egg.
- Add the vanilla; mix for 30 seconds.
- Fold the flour mixture into the batter using a silicone spatula until all of the flour is combined.
- Add the chopped pears and mix to combine.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 75 minutes.
Icing:
- Place the raisins, butter, rum, vanilla, and salt into a sauté pan.
- Cook over high heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula until the butter has completely melted.
- Pour the mixture into a small bowl, sift in the powdered sugar, and then mix until combined.
- Add 1-teaspoon of water at a time until a desired drizzling consistency is reached.
- Spoon the icing over the cooled cake.
Suggestions:
- 5 to 6 small pears will usually yield 3 1/2-cups of chopped pears.
- You can replace the pears in this recipe with apples if you choose.
- Adding the raisins into the flour mixture will help them to not sink to the bottom of the cake during baking.
- This cake batter will be very thick. Make sure to even the batter out with a spatula before baking.
- If the top of your cake is burning while baking, you may choose to tent the cake with foil after it has baked for 50 to 60 minutes.
- The longer this cake sits, the moister it will become; make this cake a day or two ahead of time.
Improvements:
- Replace the raisins with dried cranberries if you detest raisins.
- Add 1-teaspoon of rum extract to the cake batter.
- Replace 1/2-teaspoon of the water used in the icing with butter extract.
- If you really want to try a pear that tastes amazing, try one of these Royal Verano Pears
from Harry & David. Holy moly, are these suckers good.
- This Golden Pear Kitchen Towel
is the “pear”fect item to spice up your holiday decor.
Ingredients:
- 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 Cup Golden Raisins
- 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 1 1/2 Cups Canola Oil
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Dark Rum
- 3 1/2 Cups Pears, Peeled & Chopped
- 1/4 Cup Golden Raisins
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Dark Rum
- 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 3 to 5 Teaspoons Water
Directions:
- Grease and flour a large Bundt pan; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and raisins; set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the sugars and oil together with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add each egg, one at a time, mixing 30 seconds after the addition of each egg.
- Add the vanilla; mix for 30 seconds.
- Fold the flour mixture into the batter using a silicone spatula until all of the flour is combined.
- Add the chopped pears and mix to combine.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 75 minutes.
- Place the raisins, butter, rum, vanilla, and salt into a saute pan.
- Cook over high heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula until the butter has completely melted.
- Pour the mixture into a small bowl, sift in the powdered sugar, and then mix until combined.
- Add 1-teaspoon of water at a time until a desired drizzling consistency is reached.
- Spoon the icing over the cooled cake.
*Some affiliate links can be found in this post.
#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing a new theme or ingredient.
You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about #BundtBakers can be found on our home page.
And don’t forget to take a peek at what our other talented bakers have baked this month:
- Almond Pear Bread Pudding from Food Lust People Love
- Fresh Pear Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze from The Queen of Scones
- Honey and Walnut Pear Bundt Cake from Sew You Think You Can Cook
- London Fog & Pear Bundt Cake from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Orange Pear Bundt Cake from Basic N Delicious
- Pear and Date Bundt Cake with Caramel Mascarpone Sauce from kidsandchic
- Pear and Hazelnut Bundt from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
- Pear and Port Bundt Cake from Palatable Pasttime
- “Pear”fect Rum Raisin Cake from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Pear Pecan Coffee Bundt Cake from Patty’s Cake
- Pear Spiced Bundt Cake from I Love Bundt Cakes
- Pear Streusel Crunch Cake from Noshing with the Nolands
- Pumpkin Pear Bundt Cake from Making Miracles
- Roasted Pear & Walnut Spice Cake Bundt from Brooklyn Homemaker
- Salted Caramel Pear Bundt Cake from Tartacadabra
- Spiced Pear Bundt from A Day in the Life on the Farm
