• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Spices in My DNA

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Cookbook
  • Sugar & Spice
  • Portfolio
  • Contact Me
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
You are here: Home / Sweets / Pear Chai Tahini Cake

Pear Chai Tahini Cake

October 3, 2018 By Spices in My DNA Leave a Comment

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest1864
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This Pear Chai Tahini Cake is super light, filled with whole sliced pears, and the perfect amount of chai spice flavor. It’s super easy to make, and it’s wonderful alongside a cup of coffee or tea – any time of day! It’s great for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert!

Overhead shot of a pear cake dusted with powdered sugar with pears in the bottom and top right the frame, as well as a ramekin of tahini

This time of year, I am all about the chai spice. I still love pumpkin bread, but I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin spice everything that’s always the craze this time of year. But pumpkin in savory dishes, a million times yes. If we’re talking about sweet things and dessert, chai anything will always have my heart!

Overhead close up shot of a pear cake dusted with powdered sugar

This cake is soooo good you guys omg. It’s so light, and it works for any occasion. Brunch? Absolutely. Second breakfast when your eggs and avocado just didn’t cut it? Of course. Mid afternoon snack with a much needed third cup of coffee? Yes. Dessert? Always.

It’s one of those cakes that doesn’t really feel like you’re eating cake. More of a snacking cake, if you will. The first time I made this, I ate 1/3 of the entire cake in a matter of minutes. And I didn’t feel gross at all. It’s not too sweet, which I love.

Overhead shot of a hand placing half of a sliced pear on top of cake batter in a springform pan
Overhead shot of a springform pan filled with batter and sliced pears on top

My most favorite part of this (other than the chai spice), is that there are WHOLE sliced pears nestled in the batter. You literally peel and core a pear, then thinly slice it, and lay it on top of the batter. It slightly sinks into the batter and bakes into the cake beautifully.

When you cut into it, you get huge pieces of juicy pears and it’s pretty much the most amazing thing ever.

Overhead shot of a pear cake being cut into

This would probably work with apples too if you’re more of an apple person! Nothing beats a good honeycrisp for me this time of year, but I really love pears too! And they melt so perfectly into this cake.

The tahini in here just adds the perfect amount of nuttiness and slight sweetness! The other sweetness comes from brown sugar – I love using it in place of regular granulated sugar because it adds moisture and depth of flavor! Most times I’ll use a mixture of both, but I really love all brown sugar in this recipe.

Overhead shot of a pear cake with a slice being pulled out of it
Overhead close up shot of a pear cake with a slice being pulled out of it

And the dusting of powdered sugar makes it look super fancy, even though it’s probably the easiest cake I’ve ever made. It’s nearly one bowl, and incredibly simple. It’s one of those recipes you can throw together for impromptu guest visits in no time. Seriously comes together in minutes. The most time consuming part is peeling, coring, and slicing the pears!

It would be delicious warm with vanilla ice cream too, or some whipped cream!

Close up shot of a pear cake with a slice taken out of it

Another thing I love doing to the powdered sugar, is adding some cinnamon and cardamom to it. Like a chai powdered sugar! Totally optional, but I’m always down for extra chai flavor.

Overhead shot of a pear cake with a slice taken out of it, and a mini plate with the slice on it as well as a gold fork, and a pear off to the right

All I want right now is this slice and a chai latte!

Overhead shot of a pear cake dusted with powdered sugar with pears in the bottom and top right the frame, as well as a ramekin of tahini
Print

Pear Chai Tahini Cake

This Pear Chai Tahini Cake is super light, filled with whole sliced pears, and the perfect amount of chai spice flavor. It's super easy to make, and it's wonderful alongside a cup of coffee or tea - any time of day! It's great for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert!

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Snack
Keyword chai cake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 6
Author Molly | Spices in My DNA

Ingredients

  • 4 D'Anjou pears, peeled, cored, halved, and thinly sliced
  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
  • 1/3 cup tahini*
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • powdered sugar for dusting*

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325℉. Liberally butter and flour a 9 inch springform pan. Set aside.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until smooth. Add the tahini and vanilla and whisk again until smooth. Add the cream and whisk until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing with a rubber spatula until just combined. Pour into prepared pan.

  3. Lay the halved, sliced pears on top of the batter, (it's ok if they sink a bit!) evenly. Bake for 1 hour 25 minutes or until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let rest for 20-30 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool, then dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

*This is the tahini I use and swear by. No tahini I've ever tried has ever come close to this one.
*You can mix a little cinnamon and cardamom into your powdered sugar for a little extra chai flavor, but it's totally optional!

Close up shot of a pear cake with a slice taken out of it

cake adapted from here.

There may be an affiliate link(s) in this post, which means that if you click on a product link above and complete a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you SO much for reading!

Related Posts:

  • Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake
    Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake
  • Chicken Provencal Skillet
    Chicken Provencal Skillet
  • Fig Olive Rosemary Whole Wheat Focaccia
    Fig Olive Rosemary Whole Wheat Focaccia

Filed Under: Sweets Tagged With: breakfast, brunch, cake, chai, dessert, entertaining, fall recipe, pear, snack, tahini

Previous Post: « Pumpkin Beer Chicken Chili with Butternut Squash and Kale
Next Post: I tried 12 different pumpkin beers and this is what I thought! »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome! I'm so happy you're here. This is the space where I share healthy recipes with a sprinkle of indulgence mixed in! I’m wildly passionate about food, and I grew up in a family of foodies. I was surrounded by it from an early age and immediately fell in love. I love to share super flavorful, unique, and healthy recipes, as well as indulgent, comforting meals we all need from time to time!

Order my cookbook!

Shot of eat more plants cookbook cover with colorful vegetable dishes

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Indiebound
Books-a-Million
Book Depository

Subscribe to receive new posts by email!

Get the latest Spices in My DNA posts in your inbox!

Most Popular Recipes

Overhead shot of a bowl of curry on a turquoise plate
Overhead shot of a bowl with quinoa, chickpeas, roasted broccoli, sliced avocado, a lemon wedge, and tahini sauce with a black and silver fork next to the bowl
Forward facing shot of an iced latte with two other lattes behind it, all topped with bright pink rose petals and lavender sprigs, with more lavender and rosebuds scattered around
Quinoa Bowls with Sesame Tofu, Avocado, and Pistachios
Overhead shot of a pan of enchiladas topped with sliced avocado, cherry tomatoes, lime wedges, cilantro, and sour cream
Shot of a stack of 5 slices of chocolate chip banana bread

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Warm Artichoke Bruschetta
  • Favorite Kale Salad
  • Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake
  • Burrata Toast with Caramelized Peaches
  • Lemon Artichoke Hummus

Footer

 

 

Spices in My DNA © 2020 · Privacy Policy
 

Loading Comments...