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Ginger Pear Coffee Cake with Almond Shortbread Crumble Topping

Ginger Pear Coffee Cake with Almond Shortbread Crumble. A lightly spiced coffee cake with chunks of fresh pear baked inside, then topped with a buttery almond shortbread crumble. 

Ginger Pear Coffee Cake close up photo of one slice

Ginger Pear Coffee Cake with Almond Shortbread Crumble Topping

Originally published June, 2021.

This delicious coffee cake was born of the necessity to put to good use some of the large bag of pears we bought last weekend. Pears are Spouse’s favourite fruit so I decided to “pair” them with ginger, which is probably Spouses favourite spice.

Uncut ginger pear coffee cake on a white pedestal

Ginger Pear Coffee Cake with Almond Shortbread Crumble Topping

Freshly picked green Bartlett pears on display at the farmer's market

We like Bartlett pears for this recipe but use your own favourite if you prefer.

I added a little of my favourite Chinese five spice to the mix and since the almond shortbread crumble topping was such a success on our Cherry Swirl Almond Crumble Coffee Cake I decided to add it to this one as well. My willing taste-testers at the office had this moist, delicious coffee cake reduced to crumbs in minutes.

One slice of ginger pear coffee cake on a white plate

Ginger Pear Coffee Cake with Almond Shortbread Crumble Topping

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Ginger Pear Coffee Cake close up photo of one slice
Yield: 16 servings

Pear and Ginger Coffee Cake with Almond Shortbread Crumble Topping

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ginger Pear Coffee Cake with Almond Shortbread Crumble - a lightly spiced coffee cake with chunks of fresh pear baked inside, then topped with a buttery almond shortbread crumble.

Ingredients

For the Coffee Cake

  • 2 2/3 cups flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tsp powdered ginger
  • 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp almond extract, optional
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp very finely grated fresh ginger root
  • 2 large or 3 small pears, peeled and diced (about a half inch dice is fine)

For the Almond Shortbread crumble topping

  • 1/3 cup ground almonds
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

To prepare the coffee Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 5350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch springform pan. I like to line the bottom with parchment paper for easy release when baked.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, and five spice and set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment in place, whisk together the eggs, sugar,vanilla and almond extracts on high speed until foamy and slightly stiffened.
  4. In a measuring cup with a spout mix together the melted butter and vegetable oil.
  5. Slowly add the oil and butter mixture to the egg mixture in a slow stream as the mixer continues to whisk on almost full power.
  6. Mix together the whipping cream, milk and vinegar.
  7. Add slowly to the mixing bowl continuing to mix but at a reduced speed.
  8. Stir in the fresh ginger root.
  9. Fold in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula being careful not to over mix. Don't worry about small lumps in the batter, they are fine.
  10. When the flour is almost incorporated, fold in the pears.
  11. Pour the batter into the prepared 10 inch spring form pan.

To prepare the Almond Shortbread Crumble

  1. Pulse together in a food processor or rub the butter into the flour with your hands until fully incorporated.
  2. Add the crumble topping by squeezing together handfuls of the crumb mixture and breaking off small pieces, which get scattered all over the surface of the batter.
  3. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The toothpick test is definitely the best way to ensure that this cake is fully baked. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely or serve while still warm.

Nutrition Information

Yield

16

Serving Size

1 grams

Amount Per Serving Calories 320Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 50mgSodium 174mgCarbohydrates 42gFiber 2gSugar 19gProtein 5g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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Alison

Saturday 30th of October 2021

5350 degrees F? 350 I'm assuming. ;-)

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