Bundt cake Archives - Marisa's Italian Kitchen

This simple and deliciously moist Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake is a fall inspired dessert that is just perfect for any day of the week.

The earthy flavor of rosemary lends itself well in combination with the sweet pears and honey. There is just a small amount of this woodsy herb…enough to awaken your taste buds to its’ subtle fragrance.

Papa’s pear tree stands proudly in his garden and continues to thrive. It has been 7 months now since his passing and one of the things I miss the most besides his absence…is his garden.

The rows upon rows of plump red juicy tomatoes, sweet bell peppers and glossy purple eggplants…

There were also fig trees with their luscious sweet fruits…

A variety of lettuces and fine herbs…

When my sister gave me bag fulls of these ripe pears from papa’s tree, I immediately realized that I had more then we could possible consume in a week. I then came across this Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake from the Bake from scratch magazine and was immediately intrigued as I had never baked with rosemary before.

We start with a buttery pear compote infused with the chopped rosemary which is then cooled and stirred into the cake batter and baked to a golden brown perfection.

This Pear Rosemary Honey Bundt Cake is slightly dense in texture and oh so moist! You will find that it actually tastes better the next day, making it a perfect make ahead dessert, something to consider when planning a large family gathering and freeing up some much needed oven space.

All that is needed before serving is a dusting of icing sugar for a little extra love!

If you love herbs in sweet baked goods then this Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake is definitely for you!

Not a fan of herbs, then you may like this heavenly Chocolate and Pear Crostata.

Happy Fall everyone!

Print Recipe

Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake

A deliciously moist pear Bundt cake, scented with honey and rosemary.

Course: Bundt Cake

Servings:

Author: Marisa

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened and divided
2 cups peeled and chopped pear
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt I used fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup honey
Icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 10 cup Bundt pan and set aside.
In a medium sized sauce pot, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
Add in the chopped pear, rosemary and cook for a few minutes till the pears are soft, stirring occasionally.
Remove the pear and rosemary mixture from the heat and let it cool completely.
In a large bowl using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat the remaining 1 cup of butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla at medium speed till fluffy. About 4 minutes.
Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and the salt.
In another smaller bowl combine the milk and honey together and whisk well.
Slowly add in the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk mixture. Start and end with flour mixture, beating just until combined.
Stir in the pear and rosemary mixture.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
Bake for about 1 hour or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
Slightly loosen the cake around the edges with a knife or offset spatula and invert onto a wire rack.
Let the cake cool completely and dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Notes

Adapted from Bake from scratch Magazine

Blueberry Bundt Cake a, wonderfully dense and moist cake baked in a rose shaped Bundt pan for a lovely sculpted look and scented with the sweet aroma of orange zest.

This Blueberry Bundt Cake is perfect for a Sunday brunch, potlucks and elegant enough for special occasions.

A huge advantage when baking with a bundt pan is the beautiful decorative shape, allowing nothing more than a light simple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar to enhance the look of your cake.

To ensure easy unmolding of your cake with all the fancy designs intact, use a good cake release product. Here I used one from Wilton which allowed me to release the cake effortlessly. Another good alternative is to brush the inside of your pan with vegetable shortening and then dust with flour.

What I was not successful with was using a cooking spray. I am not sure why I decided too but my first time using it was a disaster. Half the cake was stuck in the bottom of the pan and would not unmold, hence the delay in this post! Mind you, it was perfectly edible and my husband had no problem polishing it off…lol ! So I went searching the following day for a good cake release product and a few other ingredients to bake my cake all over again. 🙂

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tbsp coarsely grated orange rind
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup orange juice
4 cups fresh blueberries

Glaze:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup orange juice

Grease a 10 inch (3 liter) Bundt cake pan or an angel food cake pan and set aside.

In a large bowl beat the softened butter with 1 cup of sugar just until fluffy. Next beat in the egg yolks one at a time and then the grated orange rind.

In a smaller bowl, use clean beaters to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside.

In yet another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and the salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the orange juice. You will make 3 additions of flour and 2 of juice. The batter will be slightly stiff.

Next, stir 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the batter mixture and fold in the remaining egg whites with a rubber spatula. Fold in 2 cups of the blueberries and scrape the cake batter into your prepared pan. Smooth out the top and give the pan a light tap on your counter to release any air pockets.

If you are using a regular Bundt pan or angel food pan, bake at 350F (180C) for 45 to 55 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place the cake on a cooling rack. Let cool for 20 minutes. If using a cast aluminum Bundt pan as I did, preheat the oven at 325F (160*C) and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes.

Glaze: Combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of orange juice in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute while stirring. As another alternative, you can just as easily use your microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it so that it does not boil over. Let it cool a little.

Loosen the cake from the pan and invert onto a serving platter. Brush the cake with the orange glaze and let it cool.

Once cooled, fill the center of the cake with the remaining blueberries and dust with icing sugar 🙂

Yields 12 servings.

Adapted from Canadian living Magazine.