Our pear cake is soft, moist, fruity, and easy to make. You only need 7 simple ingredients to make this pear-packed dessert.
It’s perfect as a snack, breakfast, or dessert for a special occasion. Try it, and you won’t have pear cake any other way!
Check out our best plant-based dessert recipes!
From our orange cake and apple cake to our lemon blueberry pound cake and carrot cake, if you follow our blog, you know we love cakes packed with fresh seasonal fruit.
This pear cake is a simple, soft, round cake stuffed and topped with pear pieces.
As the cake cooks, the pears release their flavor and juices, keeping the cake moist, adding a pleasantly soft texture, and infusing it with flavor.
Also, making it, it’s incredibly easy. Mix a few ingredients in a bowl, chop the pears in the batter, and cover the top of the cake with pear slices before baking it.
We then like to sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top to make the pear cake cozy and perfect for fall and winter.
Once baked, the cake looks beautiful, and it tastes delicious. We eat it for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
The cake is egg-free, and you won’t even notice that. It’s soft, moist, and tasty, and it cuts perfectly.
Ingredients
Fresh pears
You can use most pear varieties to make this cake. We can recommend Bartlett pears, Forelle, Bosc, Concorde, Comice, Seckel, and our favorite Anjou pears.
Use pears that are not too hard or soft but just ripe. Also, you can keep the peel on.
Flour
We use all-purpose flour. To make the cake more wholesome, you can use half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour.
Milk
You can use any milk or non-dairy milk. We use unsweetened soy milk.
You can also use half milk, half yogurt, or buttermilk.
Sugar
We use white sugar, but the most type of sugar work, including brown sugar, palm sugar, and coconut sugar.
Vegetable oil
Any light-colored vegetable oil with a neutral flavor works here. For example, we like to use canola oil or sunflower oil.
You can substitute unsalted butter or dairy-free butter for oil. However, if you do so, you’ll need 25% more butter than oil (multiply our oil amount by 1.25).
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is for the top. We mix it with a tablespoon or two of sugar, then sprinkle it on top of the pears before baking the cakes. It’s optional, but we recommend it.
Baking powder
Baking powder helps the cake rise and turn out soft and fluffy. Make sure your baking powder hasn’t been open for too long, or else it might not work.
Vanilla extract
Vanilla extract is optional. It melds well with the pear and cinnamon flavor, and if you have it in your pantry, we recommend adding it.
You can also use the beans of a vanilla pod.
Salt
Salt is optional. You can add a pinch to tie the other ingredients together and enhance their flavor.
We don’t use eggs in this cake but rest assured you won’t notice that. The cake is moist, tasty, and soft and cuts perfectly.
Optional add-ins
Feel free to add one or more of the followings:
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (on top with the cinnamon)
- a dusting of powdered sugar to garnish on top
Instructions
Make the cake batter
Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF or 180ยฐC. Line a 9-inch (21 cm) springform pan or cake pan with parchment paper, sides, and bottom.
Add the wet ingredients to a large mixing bowl: milk, sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk well till combined.
Sift in the all-purpose flour and baking powder, and whisk it with a manual whisk, electric mixer, or stand mixer.
Tip for using mixers: start whisking at low speed so that the dry ingredients don’t spill out of the bowl. Then scrape down the sides of the bowl and whisk for a few more minutes at medium speed.
Make sure lumps are gone but don’t overmix the batter. Over-mixing will result in a heavier and gummier pear cake.
Cut 1 pound of pears (about 450 grams) into four pieces lengthwise.
Cut their stem and core them, chop them into small chunks and add them to the cake batter.
Stir the pears in the batter with a spatula, then pour the batter into the springform pan.
Make the top
Cut three small pears in half and remove their core with a teaspoon (we use a US measuring spoon).
Cut the half pears into thin slices.
Arrange the slices on top of the cake in a fan-like fashion to cover the whole surface of the cake.
Mix one or two tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the pears.
Bake at 350ยฐF or 180ยฐC for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out dry.
Gently open the springform pan and cool down the cake completely before slicing it and serving it.
It’s delicious on its own or with a scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream.
Variations
Chocolate chip pear cake
Add 1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips and get an extra indulgent and chocolate-infused pear cake.
Apple cake
Do you know you can make the exact cake but with apples? The result is a delicious, soft, crowd-pleasing apple cake that everyone will devour and ask for seconds.
Check out our apple cake recipe.
Blueberry cake
You can even use the same cake batter for baking a lemon blueberry cake. In this one, we add a little lemon juice and lemon zest instead of cinnamon, which is terrific.
The blueberries pop in the oven and color the cake purple, infusing it with berry flavor and making it extra moist and delicious.
Storage
Store cake at room temperature under a cake dome, wrapped in foil or plastic to keep the pear cake soft for up to 4 days.
You can also freeze the cake for up to 3 months. Let it cool down completely, transfer it into a freezer-friendly container, and freeze it.
More recipes with fruit
For more fruity desserts and treats, take some inspiration from these wholesome dessert favorites:
- Easy fruit tart with homemade pie crust and a fruit-packed topping
- Super easy baked pears made with just 4 ingredients, a quick and healthy treat
- Baked apples with cinnamon sugar and walnuts
- Overnight oats with grated apple and almonds
More holiday recipes
When cold weather and the holiday season are upon us, we cook these sweet and savory recipes on repeat:
- Easy vanilla custard with 5 easy-to-find ingredients, ready in 10 minutes!
- Vegan carrot cake: a light and airy cake with cinnamon and nutmeg, perfect for Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations
- Irresistible cinnamon buns with brioche dough and cinnamon-sugar filling
- Vegan pancakes: perfect for brunch and Sunday breakfasts
Or these savory recipes that make excellent side dishes:
- Roasted brussels sprouts with a creamy maple syrup-dressing
- Tender roasted sweet potatoes: 3 easy ideas for baking sweet potatoes
- Green bean salad with feta, fresh tomatoes, and creamy mustard dressing
- Microwave sweet potatoes: a 5-minute recipe with easy toppings for weekday and holiday occasions
Desserts
Vegan Custard (Pastry Cream)
Desserts
Vegan Carrot Cake
Desserts
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Breakfast
Vegan Pancakes
Salads
Green Bean Salad
Pear Cake
Equipment
- Springform pan or cake pan (diameter from 8.5 to 9 inches or from 21 cm to 23cm). We use 8.5 inch/21 cm.
- Whisk or electric mixer.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup milk we use unsweetened soy milk
- ยพ cup sugar
- ยผ cup vegetable oil we use canola or sunflower oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract optional
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 pound pears
For the top
- 3 small pears
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
MAKE THE CAKE BATTER
- Preheat theย oven to 350ยฐFย or 180ยฐC. Line aย springform panย or cake pan with parchment paper (sides and bottom).To a large mixing bowl, add theย wet ingredients and whisk well.
- Sift in the all-purpose flour and baking powder and whisk until combined.Make sureย lumps are goneย butย don't overmix the batter.
- Cutย 1 pound of pearsย (about 450 grams) into four pieces lengthwise.Core them thenย chop them into small chunksย and add them to the cake batter. Keep the peel on.
- Stir the pears in the batterย with a spatula, thenย pour the batterย into the springform pan.
MAKE THE TOP
- Cut 3 small pears in halfย andย remove their coreย with a teaspoon (we use a US measuring teaspoon).Cut the half pears intoย thin slices.
- Arrange theย slices on top of the cakeย in aย fan-like fashionย to cover the whole surface of the cake.
- Mix one or two tablespoons ofย sugar with the cinnamon, then sprinkle on top of the pears.
- Bake at 350ยฐFย or 180ยฐCย for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out dry.Gently open the springform pan andย cool down the cake completelyย before slicing it and serving it.
- It's delicious on its ownย or with aย scoop of vanillaย orย chocolate ice cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you liked this pear cake, you might also enjoy:
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It’s perfect as a snack, breakfast, or dessert for a special occasion. Try it, and you won’t have pear cake any other way!” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with vegetarian and vegan recipes.
Hello:
Can I make this cake with gluten free flour?
If so, would I use the same amount of flour as is stated in the recipe?
thank you.
Hi Alexandra,
We haven’t tested this recipe with GF Flour. Some of our readers tested our Aapple Cake (which is the same as this recipe but with apples) with GF flour and it turned out well for them.
They used a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour for cakes, in the same amount stated in the recipe.
I hope this helps.
Nico
Delicious and simple – thank you for sharing! I did keep the cake in the oven for an extra 30 minutes until it was ready, similar to the comments shared below.
So other than not using soy milk or vegetable oil ( it too is soy) I have the pear cake in the oven for over an hour and still have soup in my baking pan and NOT a cake. Oven temp is checked often since I bake often. Don’t know what happened to this… except that all my ingredients are now trash! ๐
Hi Jill,
I am sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. I don’t know what could have gone wrong since you changed some of the ingredients.
I suspect it’s the oven temperature but it could also be the substitutions.
Nico
I turned this recipe into cup cakes and baked in the air-fryer. I used a quarter whole wheat flour and brown sugar, the latter I increased as my pears were bland. I added extra cinnamon and walnuts. Great way to use up fruit. Thank you.
Hi Ria,
Well done – thanks so much for the feedback, what a great idea to cook the pear muffins in the air fryer.
I’m very happy you liked the recipe:-)
Louise
I am looking for a dessert that i can use a mix of both pears and apples. Would they cook around the same rate of time? I have 1 red and 2 green D’Anjou and 1 each gala and pink lady apples. Any suggestions? Would this cake work it sounds and looks delicious. Thanks.
Hi Shawntel,
Yes, pears can be substituted for apples in this cake OR you can use a mix. I think it would make a delicious dessert.
If you try, please let me know how you like it ๐
Kindest,
Louise
Good afternoon,
WOW, I’m not vegan but I found your recipe and am glad I did! I made this today and, I must say that it is fantastic! Here are the few changes that I had to make because some ingredients I did not have available: I used 2 cans of unsweetened pears (no skin), and for the oil, I used melted coconut (at first I was concerned because once I melted it and then added it to the rest of the wet mix, it solidified, bummer!), I also added 2 tablespoons of vanilla instead of one (love the flavor). I’ve saved the juice from the pears and might make a powdered sugar glaze with it…if the cake lasts that long. My HoneyLove loved it!!! And although I made these few changes, it was still DELICIOUS!!! I will make this again! I’ve tried to add pictures but somehow, couldn’t, anyhow, thanks for the recipe! I will try some of the others that you have listed on your site, thanks again. Blessings!
Hi Marilyn,
Thank you so much for your valuable comment and tips! I absolutely love the idea of the leftover canned pear juice with powdered sugar as a glaze. I wonder if you had cake leftovers to test that? ๐
There is really no better feedback than our food being shared, and appreciated by families – we’re super happy that the cake was a hit.
Thanks again for leaving a message, and have an amazing rest of your week. All the best,
Louise
It is in the oven as we speak!! Also taking longer to bake – but I think itโs because the spring form is smaller so itโs taller and therefore takes longer to bake through. Hope it turns out well!
Oh that’s exciting, Lenka!!
Please let me know how it turns out (and what you think).
Thank youuuu ๐ Kindest,
Louise
I made this with half whole wheat flour and half white flour. I used unsweetened almond milk. It was super watery at the suggested time so I left it for an extra thirty minutes and it turned out great!
Hi Emtee, thanks so much for your feedback. That’s so interesting. We baked this cake several times, and it was always done in around 50 minutes. I am not sure what could have gone wrong. Happy it turned out well with some extra baking time.
I made this yesterday and my non-vegan family loved it!
Yubeee, I’m delighted to hear Lu!! Thanks so much for coming back to share that! Have a great week. Cheers, Nico