Easy Homemade Vanilla Chai & Fresh Pear Bundt Cake

And just like that…. Autumn has rolled into the Pioneer Valley. It’s always a shock to me that the temperatures can turn cold and crisp so abruptly! Mornings are misty and undeniably chilly, and the maples are showing faint touches of orange and red on our mountainside. With cooling temperatures, comes the new pleasure of delicious Fall inspired flavors like vanilla, chai, and fresh pears.

I grew up closer to the coast, and you could count on warm days until October, but that is decidedly not the case out here! I feel that I’m always bundled up in at least three layers at all times, and it takes a warm fuzzy blanket to get me toasty.

Oh well!

What we don’t have in warm weather, we make up for with an abundance of fall fruits: Apples, plums, pears and late raspberries. Sweet & juicy, they make up for an early autumn. Especially in this Easy Homemade Vanilla Chai & Fresh Pear Bundt Cake!

The Inspiration…

If you take a drive on any small country road out this way, you’ll see old, gnarled apple trees in ancient orchards, heavy with red fruit, and plump pears dotting the trees of the nearby farms, just waiting for their fruit to be harvested.

My Vanilla Chai & Pear Cake is a delicious chai dessert recipe and an easy cake for even the beginner baker. Pears are one of those fruits that lend themselves so well to traditional baking spices, and their soft texture melts into the crumb of the cake. Better yet, what if you combined them with cinnamon and vanilla …. maybe a hint of ground chai?

You’ve seen me use this aromatic ingredient before in my Apple Chai Sourdough Scones, with terrific results! Baking with Indian chai imparts the complex & delicious fragrances of cardamon, nutmeg, pepper, ginger & clove into this Pear Bundt Cake. The chai heightens the sweetness of the pear, and adds to this quick pear dessert’s distinctive autumn flavor!

This cake has all the benefits of a traditional Bundt recipe (like my Chocolate Cranberry Bunt Cake!) in it’s simplicity, but the flavors are wonderfully fresh and modern. The spices give it the 5 star treatment, and from there… well, it gets even better. Fresh sliced of pears are sunk into the batter, and bake up soft and sweet, not to mention keep the cake from getting overly dry! This chai pear Bundt Cake is especially pretty in a tall and pretty funnel pan like this one: this isn’t your grandmother’s old fashioned Bundt Cake recipe!

A Bit of Bundt History…

Everyone recognizes the curvy swooping sides and hollow tube center of a Bundt Cake. I think most of us have at least a fond memory or two of enjoying a piece of coffee cake from one of these kitchen staples! Originally developed for a Minnesota based Hadassah Society, H. David Dalquist invented this unique pan in 1950, while trying to replicate the traditional Swiss-German kugelhopf cake pan for American audiences. he succeeded in making one of the most popular kitchen tools around!

Originally made of aluminum, the pan quickly became popular with home bakers in the mid 1960’s. I still remember the pan my mother used while I was growing up, one of the ‘original’ heavy aluminum ones and previously owned by my grandmother. Today, you can find Bundt pans in all shapes and sizes. They are one of my favorite baking vessels!

How do I Keep a Bundt Cake from Sticking to my Bundt Cake Pan?

There’s nothing worse than baking up a beautiful Vanilla Chai & Pear Bundt Cake, and not being able to cleanly turn it out of the pan! I’ve been there and it’s just heartbreaking! To fix this problem, generously butter & flour your pan, getting into all of the nooks and crannies. Another alternative is to use a baking spray, a combination of vegetable oil and flour, to prevent any cake catastrophes! I also try to let my Bundt cakes stand and cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, before inverting to a cooling rack. If you use these helpful methods, you cakes will come out perfectly!

Go and grab some yummy ripe pears and give this recipe for Vanilla Chai & Pear Bundt Cake a whirl!

Pear & Vanilla Chai Bundt Cake

makes 1 Bundt cake

2 sticks (or 1 cup) butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon fine chai, ground

3 cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs, room temperature

1 cup of whole milk

2 teaspoons fine vanilla extract

2 slightly soft Bartlett pears

Preheat your oven to 350F and place a rack in the middle portion.

Take your 1 tablespoon of chai and grind in a spice grinder or motor & pestle. Reserve.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and ground chai on medium-high speed. Reserve the waxed butter wrappers.

Beat the butter mixture until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

In a separate large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fork mix and reserve.

Using the wax butter wrappers, lightly grease the entire inside of the Bundt pan. I like using the wrappers for this, since there’s just enough left over butter on them to properly grease the pan. Add 1-2 teaspoons of flour to the pan, then gently tap the flour into all of the nooks and crannies. Invert the pan and tap any excess flour out into the sink or garbage can.

In the stand mixer, after the butter has beaten for a bit, you’ll now add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat in completely before adding the next. You may want to stop the mixer from time to time to scrape down the sides with a spatula.

Add the vanilla and beat to mix.

Lowering the speed, begin to alternate adding about a quarter of the dry ingredients from your bowl with about a quarter of the milk. Repeat this until you’re out of milk and dry. I like to split this into four steps, and I start and end with the flour mixture.

Beat until well mixed.

Next, wash and dry your pears. Slice 1/4 inch thick slices on either side of the core. You should get about three to four slices on each side. We want the slices to be nice and wide, resembling cross-sections of the pear itself. Reserve.

Taking your Bundt pan, spoon a nice layer of batter evenly around and smooth it lightly.

We’ll now take the pair slices, narrow end pointing down, and sink them into the batter. I like to fit each slice into a groove on the center funnel. The goal here is to have a slice of pair with every slice of cake!

Once the pear slices have been arranged, begin to evenly spoon the rest of the batter into the pan. Gently place the batter between the pear slices with a spoon, then smooth the batter over the top with an offset spatula or large spoon.

On a cutting board, firmly tap (bang!) the pan down a few times to help get rid of any air bubbles that may be trapped.

Place the Bundt Cake into the preheated oven and cook for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean from the middle.

Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then invert. Let cook completely.

I like to wait a few hours before digging in, as the flavors really bloom.

Top with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Easy Homemade Vanilla Chai & Fresh Pear Bundt Cake

This pear dessert is a delicious and easy idea for even a beginner baker. The complex chai fragrances of cardamon, nutmeg, pepper, ginger & clove heighten the sweetness of the pear, and give this delicious Bundt Cake it’s distinctive autumn flavor!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 2 sticks or 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fine chai ground
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs room temperature
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 2 teaspoons fine vanilla extract
• 2 slightly soft Bartlett pears

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350F and place a rack in the middle portion.
• Take your 1 tablespoon of chai and grind in a spice grinder or motor & pestle. Reserve.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and ground chai on medium-high speed. Reserve the waxed butter wrappers.
• Beat the butter mixture until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• In a separate large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fork mix and reserve.
• Using the wax butter wrappers, lightly grease the entire inside of the Bundt pan. I like using the wrappers for this, since there’s just enough left over butter on them to properly grease the pan. Add 1-2 teaspoons of flour to the pan, then gently tap the flour into all of the nooks and crannies. Invert the pan and tap any excess flour out into the sink or garbage can.
• In the stand mixer, after the butter has beaten for a bit, you’ll now add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat in completely before adding the next. You may want to stop the mixer from time to time to scrape down the sides with a spatula.
• Add the vanilla and beat to mix.
• Lowering the speed, begin to alternate adding about a quarter of the dry ingredients from your bowl with about a quarter of the milk. Repeat this until you’re out of milk and dry. I like to split this into four steps, and I start and end with the flour mixture.
• Beat until well mixed.
• Next, wash and dry your pears. Slice 1/4 inch thick slices on either side of the core. You should get about three to four slices on each side. We want the slices to be nice and wide, resembling cross-sections of the pear itself. Reserve.
• Taking your Bundt pan, spoon a nice layer of batter evenly around and smooth it lightly.
• We’ll now take the pair slices, narrow end pointing down, and sink them into the batter. I like to fit each slice into a groove on the center funnel. The goal here is to have a slice of pair with every slice of cake!
• Once the pear slices have been arranged, begin to evenly spoon the rest of the batter into the pan. Gently place the batter between the pear slices with a spoon, then place batter over the top with an offset spatula or large spoon.
• On a cutting board, firmly tap (bang!) the pan down a few times to help get rid of any air bubbles that may be trapped.
• Place the Bundt Cake into the preheated oven and cook for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean from the middle.
• Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then invert. Let cook completely.
• I like to wait a few hours before digging in, as the flavors really bloom.
• Top with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Notes

If pears are difficult to find, substitute with a firm apple variety like Gala apples or even Honey Crisp apples.

Traditional chai can be found in speciality markets or easily on Amazon.com. Try tp look for blends that incorporate a little bit of ginger and cardamon for the best flavor.

This cake can also be frozen. Let cool completely after baking, and then wrap in several layers of plastic wrap. Next, cover in two layers of tin foil.