Spiced Brown Butter Pear Cornmeal Cake (+ GF Version)

Yeah, I know, that name is a mouthful. But this spiced brown butter pear cake IS a mouthful, in the best way—absolutely bursting with the flavors of juicy pears, richly warm spices, nutty brown butter, and amazing moistness and texture from the cornmeal.

I am completely in love with it—it’s the fall snacking cake we all deserve for surviving the fact that it now gets dark at like 5:00pm.

I got the urge to create this recipe when I was in Louisville a couple weeks ago, and the little brunch spot had this delicious spiced apple cornmeal cake. I wanted to recreate it when I got home, but then my brain decided that pears and brown butter were going to make this SO much more epic. (And…for the record my brain was 100% correct)

I have a post on how to brown butter, if you’re not familiar with the process—it’s super easy! Besides that one extra step, this cake comes together so fast and easily in one bowl, in about 15 minutes. That’s what I love about what I call “snacking cakes”…they’re not fancy, we’re not icing anything, and while they can be dessert, they are also a perfect Tuesday afternoon treat with a steaming mug of tea.

What type of pears to use

Let’s talk about the pears for a minute. You really do need your pears to be beautifully ripe and juicy and flavorful. No hard sad underripe pears here. And I strongly believe Bartletts are the way to go (or those new Happi kind, which are very similar). You’re welcome to try the recipe with other varieties, but I’m sticking with Bartletts.

If you have lovely ripe Bartletts, you don’t have to peel the pears before putting them in the cake. Mine were so tender the skin was paper-thin. But if you use another type or they have thick skins, you could consider peeling them just from a texture standpoint.

Can this pear cake be gluten-free?

It already is! I’m gluten-free at the moment so I made it GF to start with. But you can easily sub all-purpose flour for the 1:1 gluten-free mix. I use Bob’s Red Mill, but King Arthur’s works well too, and likely any 1:1 mix you like (as long as it has xanthan gum) will work.

How to make spiced pear brown butter cornmeal cake

I’ve got detailed instructions below in the recipe, so won’t go into the full detail here, but generally here’s what we’re going to do. Don’t be alarmed by the number of ingredients listed, this is actually a really fast, easy cake to throw together. One bowl, and it’s in the oven in about 15 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350° F and prep a 9-inch springform pan as needed (I just use a round of parchment in the bottom). Slice your pears first, so they’re ready to go.

Brown your butter and set it aside to cool slightly. I have a post on how to brown butter if you haven’t done it before, with step-by-step instructions.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Then add the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract.

Stir until combined, then gently fold in the pears. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Use 45 to 55 minutes as a starting place, but mine has been more like 55 to 60 because my pears were very ripe so were adding some extra moisture.

While the cake is baking, stir together the other 1/4 cup of sugar and the 1/4 cup water in a small pot over medium heat to make the simple syrup. Once the sugar is dissolved and it starts to simmer, remove from heat and stir in the almond extract.

When the cake comes out of the oven, brush the top with the simple syrup. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. I’d wait at least 15-20 minutes before serving so the crumb can “set”. Otherwise it will be prone to falling apart.

I am absolutely going to be whipping up this brown butter spiced pear cake any time this fall that I can get my hands on beautifully ripe Bartlett pears!

Adapted from Shutterbean

Other snacking cakes for an afternoon sweet treat:

• Chocolate Pear Cake
• Smitten Kitchen’s Bittersweet Chocolate & Pear Cake
• Cozy Cinnamon Snack Cake (Egg-Free)
• Dark Chocolate Loaf Cake Adapted From Nigella Lawson
• Roasted Apricot Olive Oil Cake with a Hint of Rosemary
• Meyer Lemon Syrup Cake with Jam Swirls
• Marian Burros’s Plum Torte

If you’re as obsessed with pears as I am…I’ve got your back:

• Spiced Pear, Hazelnut, & Chocolate Chunk Muffins
• Pear Fritters with Maple-Honey Glaze
• Pear Hazelnut Cake With Rosemary Honey Glaze
• Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie (my Thanksgiving staple)
• Amazing Pear Torte

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Print Recipe

Spiced Brown Butter Pear Cornmeal Cake (Regular & GF Versions)

This spiced pear and brown butter cake includes cornmeal for texture and moisture, and is absolute autumn perfection. It's moist and light, highlighting the juicy pear flavor and warm spices, and can be whipped up in just over an hour. This is the snacking cake we all need this fall!

I make this cake gluten-free and it's amazing, but you can easily make it with regular flour as well.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time55 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

• Microplane Zester/Grater
• Nordic Ware Pan Springform, 9 Inch

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour can use GF 1:1 mix
• 1/2 cup fine-ground yellow cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• Zest of 1 small lemon
• 2 large eggs lightly whisked
• 2 medium ripe Bartlett pears cut into thin wedges (see notes on size and skins)

For the simple syrup:

• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of water
• A few drops of almond extract

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350° F. I put a round of parchment paper on the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, but didn’t prepare the pan otherwise.
• Slice your pears so they’re ready to go.
• Brown the butter: Cut the stick of butter into smaller pieces and add to a medium skillet. Heat on medium until it melts, then continue to heat and stir as it starts to foam, then bubble and crackle, and finally quiet down and the bottom will get dark quickly. Pull before it burns! Set aside to cool slightly.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1 cup of the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom.
• Add the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract. Gently fold in the pears.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Use 45 to 55 minutes as a starting place, but mine has been more like 55 to 60 because my pears were very ripe so were adding some extra moisture.
• While the cake is baking, stir together the other 1/4 cup of sugar and the 1/4 cup water in a small pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in almond extract, and set aside. Honestly you could make half this amount and still have some left over.
• When the cake comes out of the oven, brush the top with the simple syrup. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream if desired.

Notes

You don’t have to peel the pears, that’s a preference texturally… mine were super ripe and the skin was so thin, they would have fallen apart if I tried to peel them.

I didn’t use quite the whole two pears because mine were gigantic.  Use your judgment.

You really do need your pears to be beautifully ripe and juicy and flavorful.

To make this gluten-free, use your favorite 1:1 GF mix (like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur), as long as it has xanthan gum.