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Recipes

Pear Snacking Cake With Chocolate and Rosemary

By Abby Olitzky

5.0

(2)

Pear Chocolate Chunk Dream Cake on a white plate placed on a red fabric
Photograph by Breanne Furlong, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht

For lovers of a not-too-sweet dessert, this cozy snacking cake is for you. Featuring autumnal pear, woodsy rosemary, and chocolate chunks, it’s the ideal slice for anyone who prefers their cake with a savory angle (like test kitchen director Chris Morocco, who, after tasting it, squirreled away a piece for his breakfast the next day). With each bite, the rosemary-sugar-crusted top gives way to a lighter-than-expected interior. This is achieved by whipping the eggs and sugar until they reach a ribbon-like consistency, which adds lots of air into the finished batter. Leave your snacking cake on the counter to cut into throughout the day. It’s great with a cup of coffee, as an afternoon pick-me-up, or with a spoonful of whipped cream or crème fraîche for dessert.

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    1 hour 15 minutes (plus cooling)

  • Yield

    8 servings

Ingredients

⅓

cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for pan

1¼

cups (156 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

1

tsp. baking powder

½

tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt

2

large eggs

⅔

cup (133 g) granulated sugar

¼

cup plain whole-milk yogurt

½

tsp. vanilla extract

2

medium pears, peeled, cored, cut into ⅓" pieces

3

oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1

Tbsp. finely chopped rosemary

1

Tbsp. raw sugar

Sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche (for serving; optional)

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 400°. Brush a 9"-diameter cake pan with extra-virgin olive oil. Line bottom with a parchment paper round and brush round with oil. Lightly dust pan with all-purpose flour, tapping out excess. Whisk 1¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl to combine; set aside.

    Step 2

    Beat 2 large eggs and ⅔ cup (133 g) granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment on medium-high speed until doubled in size, pale in color, and mixture falls back onto itself in a slowly dissolving ribbon, 12–14 minutes. Reduce speed to low and, with motor running, gradually pour in ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil; mix until combined. Add ¼ cup plain whole-milk yogurt and ½ tsp. vanilla extract and mix on low speed just until combined. Sift in reserved dry ingredients and beat on low speed until barely incorporated, about 15 seconds. Set aside ¼ cup from 2 medium pears, peeled, cored, cut into ⅓" pieces, for topping cake. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in 3 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, and remaining pears until evenly distributed and any last streaks of dry ingredients are incorporated.

    Step 3

    Scrape batter into prepared pan. Top with reserved pears, then 1 Tbsp. finely chopped rosemary and 1 Tbsp. raw sugar. Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° and continue to bake until golden brown on top and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35–40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan.

    Step 4

    Turn cake out onto rack and carefully peel away parchment paper; discard. Invert cake onto a plate (it should be right side up now). Serve slices topped with sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche if desired.

    Do Ahead: Cake can be baked 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

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