Cardamom Pear Crumb Cake
This spiced crumb cake has a brown sugar crumb topping and a swirl of cardamom-cinnamon sugar inside. Adorned with sliced pears, this cake truly makes for a show stopping dessert.
Flavor notes:
cardamom | vanilla | pear
Pairing suggestions:
dinner parties | fiction novels | decaf espresso
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About This Recipe
While this is certainly not the healthiest recipe on my site, sometimes an unapologetically decadent cake is exactly what you need. The crumble topping and cinnamon sugar swirl really transform this crumb cake into something from a dream.
Slow roasted pears are truly what make this crumb cake shine. They’re the definition of rustic! I love using produce that’s in season. As we transition from the berries of summer to the gourds fall and winter, one of my favorite ingredients to highlight are pears.
Somehow, this version of crumb cake feels dressy enough for a dinner party. The height of the cake is really what sells it.
Ingredients for cardamom pear crumb cake
All purpose flour: you’ll need a whopping 4 cups of flour for this one! It’s a tall cake, what can I say?
Sour cream: I used foragers plant based sour cream for this recipe.
Cane sugar: if you’re strictly vegan, be sure to purchase from a clean label brand to ensure your sugar wasn’t processed with bone char. You can get vegan cane sugar here.
Coconut sugar: it adds a lovely nuttiness to the cake – we’re all about that complex flavor profile! Grab a bag from amazon here.
Hemp milk: I used pacific foods unsweetened vanilla hemp milk (purchase here on amazon). If you’re in a pinch, another high protein plant milk will do.
Canola oil: use any neutral vegetable oil here. I know canola oil is getting a bad rep at the moment, and if you’re concerned, you could consider using avocado oil and reducing to ⅞ the indicated amount.
Applesauce: unsweetened is the way to go. This is one of my go-to quick bread recipe adaptations – adding applesauce instead of more oil or butter is a surefire way to create desserts that are more nutritious and less calorically dense.
Lemon juice: we need the acidity from lemons to activate the baking powder in this recipe
Vanilla extract: for the flavor, of course
Cardamom: it’s not a cardamom cake without the namesake ingredient!
Baking soda: a leavening agent
Baking powder: another leavening agent
Salt: to round out the flavor
Bosc pears – I recommend picking up 6-8 pears that are all about the same height. We’re leaving the stems on and cutting each pear into 1″ slices, using the center slices for decorating the cake.
Ingredients for the crumb topping
Flour: all purpose flour or oat flour will work best.
Butter: I simply love miyokos plant based european style butter for pretty much all of my vegan desserts! Not sponsored, just a huge fan of this product.
Brown sugar: coconut sugar will work, too!
Cinnamon: I personally prefer ceylon to saigon, but whichever you have on hand will work!
Cardamom: the recipe’s namesake
Salt: I prefer iodized here because I don’t use iodized salt anywhere else in my diet, and I like to know I’m getting enough iodine 🙂
How to make a simple glaze
A glaze is the quickest way to elevate almost any dessert. Luckily, the recipe is super simple. To make a glaze, you’ll need:
- Powdered sugar and
- A liquid component. I typically use whatever plant milk I have on hand. See below for other ideas!
Start with a bowl of powdered sugar (eyeball about 1 cup). Little by little, add in the liquid component of your choosing. It takes much less liquid than you think!! The ratio is something like 10:1 of powdered sugar to liquid. Adjust with more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze, and add more liquid for a thinner glaze. It’s really that simple.
Liquid Component
Depending on the flavor profile of your dessert, you might use fresh citrus juice, chai tea concentrate, leftover syrup from cooked fruit, or something thicker like yogurt / sour cream. Just be aware of the color of the liquid, because it will influence the color of the glaze. To keep it bright white, I suggest plant milk or yogurt.
Add-ins
Vanilla extract is the classic, but there are plenty of other flavorings you could play with.
Almond extract (just a teeny bit goes a LONG way)
Spices like cinnamon, pumpkin spice, turmeric (for a yellow color)
Powders like matcha, cacao, or maca
Natural coloring agents like turmeric, ground up freeze dried berries, or matcha
Expert Tips
Be sure not to open the door of the oven while your cake is baking. This cake, in particular, has a long way to rise, and even a second of cold (room temperature) air can be enough to disrupt this process.
Use a springform pan. The pan should have a clamp and removable sides, like this one from amazon. There’s really no better way to keep the pear slices intact if you plan to remove the cake from its pan before serving.
Pay attention to the temperature of your ingredients. This is super underestimated. When you use cold-from-the-fridge ingredients, the sugar struggles to dissolve and the resulting cake will be heavy with a coarse, uneven crumb. Use room temperature – or even slightly warmed – ingredients to produce cakes with fine, delicate crumb structures and glossy tops.
Follow along on Instagram!
Recipe Card
Cardamom Pear Crumb Cake
Equipment
- 1 round springform pan
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 4 cups ap flour
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup hemp milk or another plant milk
- 1 ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 8 1" slices bosc pears
Crumble Topping
- 1 ⅓ cup ap flour
- 10 TBSP butter, cold
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 TBSP cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamom
Cinnamon Cardamom Sugar Swirl
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamom
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-3 tbsp hemp milk or another plant milk
Instructions
Make the Crumble Topping
- Combine flour, cinnamon, cardamom, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or with your hands. The texture should resemble wet sand. Store in the fridge until you are ready to prepare the cake.
Make the cardamom-cinnamon sugar swirl
- Combine the ¼ coconut sugar with 1 tbsp cinnamon and 1 tsp cardamom
Slice the pears
- Cut the pears lengthwise into 1" thick slices, keeping the stems on. Use the tallest slices for decorating the cake. Remove any seeds with the tip of your knife.
Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 375 and line a round springform cake pan with a neutral cooking oil
- Slice a strip of parchment paper to press around the sides of the pan
- Combine the wet ingredients in a large bowl (sour cream, cane sugar, coconut sugar, hemp milk, canola oil, applesauce, lemon juice, vanilla extract)
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cardamom, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined
Assemble the Cake
- Press the sliced pears against the lined sides of the lined springform pan
- Pour ⅔ the cake batter into the prepared pan
- Sprinkle the cardamom-cinnamon sugar mixture on top
- Pour the remaining ⅓ of the cake batter on top
- Crumble the crumb topping over the cake batter
- Bake at 375 ℉ for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350℉ and bake another 45 minutes (or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean).
Optional Glaze
- Combine the powdered sugar with plant milk, adding the milk one tablespoon at a time and mixing well after each addition. Continue adding milk until you reach your desired consistency.
Did you try this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
