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Dark Academia Spiced Pear and Walnut Cake

dark academia spiced pear and walnut cake - featured image
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A cozy fall loaf cake featuring warm spices, nutty browned butter, juicy pears, and toasted walnuts. Perfect for quiet afternoons and comforting moments.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (2 sticks, 227g) unsalted butter, browned and cooled slightly
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (or almond flour for gluten-free)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
  • ½ cup (120ml) buttermilk or whole milk (dairy-free milk optional)
  • 2 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and diced
  • 1 cup (100g) chopped walnuts, toasted

Instructions

  1. Brown the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until golden-brown and nutty in aroma. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and dust lightly with flour.
  3. Toast walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
  4. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
  5. In another bowl, whisk browned butter with sugar until combined.
  6. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
  7. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture in three parts, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix gently after each addition without overmixing.
  8. Fold in diced pears and toasted walnuts gently with a spatula.
  9. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
  10. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, checking at 50 minutes with a toothpick; it should come out clean or with moist crumbs.
  11. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Brown butter carefully to avoid burning; use firm pears like Bosc or Anjou for best texture; toast walnuts to enhance flavor and crunch; do not overmix batter to keep cake tender; tent cake with foil if oven runs hot after 40 minutes; pat pears dry if very juicy to avoid soggy bottom.

Nutrition

Keywords: spiced pear cake, walnut cake, browned butter cake, fall baking, cozy dessert, autumn cake, loaf cake, nutty cake

Find it online: https://tomyumy.com/dark-academia-spiced-pear-and-walnut-cake-recipe-perfect-for-cozy-fall-baking/