Pear Spice Cake with Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Pear Spice Cake with Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream | Milk and Cardamom

Fall is finally here and I’m here for it. I took all things fall and threw them into a cake! This Pear Spice Cake with Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream is made with cardamom-spiced cake filled with perfectly ripe pears macerated in brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom all frosted with a nutty brown butter swiss meringue. Honestly, this cake is the epitome of fall!

Pear Spice Cake with Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream | Milk and Cardamom

I highly recommend using Burlap and Barrel’s Royal Cinnamon in this pear spice cake, it is out of this world good! The cinnamon is naturally sweet and extremely aromatic. I used the cinnamon to spice my pears. I used ripe pears that were super soft and macerated them in brown sugar. Macerate is just a fancy word for softening food in sugar or liquid. If your pears aren’t super ripe or they’re crunchy you might have to macerate them overnight to get them extra soft. I also suggest peeling the pear if it’s isn’t ripe as well as it’ll give you a tough texture. 

Pear Spice Cake with Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream | Milk and Cardamom

The star of this cake is the brown butter swiss meringue buttercream. It is so nutty and light! Make sure your browned butter is completely cool when you mix it into the meringue, otherwise it’ll give you soupy, loose meringue. IF that does happen, just pop the whole bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes and try whipping it up again. 

Pear Spice Cake with Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream | Milk and Cardamom

If you guys decide to make this cake, be sure to tag me on social media @milkandcardamom! 

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Pear Spice Cake with Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream | Milk and Cardamom

Pear Spice Cake with Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream


  • Author: Milk and Cardamom
  • Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
  • Yield: 9 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

A fluffy cardamom layer cake filled with pears macerated in brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom, all topped with nutty browned sugar swiss meringue buttercream. Makes one 6-inch layer cake.


Ingredients

Units Scale

MACERATED PEARS

  • 1 ripe pear (95 g), diced small
  • 2 tbsp (12 g) brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • pinch salt

CARDAMOM CAKE

  • 1 3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp (227 g) All purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground cardamom
  • 8 tbsp (117 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup plus 1 tbsp (227 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 egg plus 1 yolk, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup(117 g) milk, room temperature

BROWN BUTTER SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

  • 14 tbsp (196 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup (85 g) egg whites OR 1/3 cup (75 g) aquafaba
  • 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract


Instructions

Macerated Spiced Pears

  1. Add diced pears, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt into a small bowl and mix well. Set aside

Cardamom Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line and grease two 6-inch cake pans.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Set aside
  3. In the large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together for 7 minutes on high speed, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Add egg and egg yolk (or apple sauce and sour cream) and mix for 1 minute. Add vanilla and mix for another minute. Scrape down the bowl and add the milk and dry ingredients in three alternating additions, mixing in between each addition.
  4. Split the batter evenly amongst the two prepared pans (~13 oz of batter per cake pan) and use a spatial to spread the batter into an even layer. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour and then turn the cakes out and cool completely on a rack.

Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. Add 5 tbsp (71 g) of butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Melt and stir the butter until you see little specks of brown caramelized milk fat in the pan and then immediately pour the browned butter into a bowl and place it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes or until cooled.
  2. Add egg whites (or aquafaba), sugar, cream of tartar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. If using aquafaba, skip step 2.
  3. If using egg white, set up a double boiler and place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir for 5 minutes or until the mixture hits 160°F. Then remove from the heat.
  4. Attach the bowl to the mixer and whisk for 12 minutes. Add the browned butter and the rest of the butter (125 g) a tablespoon at a time, mixing well in between each addition.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Scrape down the bowl and whisk well. If it’s soupy or loose- pop the bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes and then continue whisking. It should be creamy, smooth, and light. Spoon half the buttercream into a piping bag or sandwich bag and set aside.

Assemble

  1. Once the cakes are completely cool, use a serrated knife to level the cakes. Spread a thin layer of buttercream onto one cake using a spatula. Pipe a ring along the edge of the cake and fill the center with the macerated pears, making sure not to get too much of the liquid at the bottom of the bowl into the cake. Gently dollop 1/4 cup or buttercream on top of the pears and slowly spread it out into an even layer. Top with the second cake layer and press down gently. Pipe the buttercream to fill in any gaps between the cakes and spread a thin layer of buttercream all over the cake using a spatula. Refrigerate the cake for 10 minutes and then decorate with the leftover buttercream. Dust with cinnamon, top with sprinkles, whatever your heart desires!
  • Prep Time: 90 mins
  • Cook Time: 50 mins
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American
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