Marisa's Italian Kitchen

The Secret Ingredient Is Always Love

honey

Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake

by 40 Comments

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 flavour 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.

A sliced pear and honey bundt cake on a black serving platter.

This Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake Recipe was originally published September 21, 2016 and republished September 28, 2019 with updated photos and content.

Papa’s pear tree stands proudly in his garden and continues to thrive.

Since his passing, 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 and a wonderful variety of lettuces and fine herbs.

It was a wonderfully tended garden!

Fresh ripe pears on a black serving tray.

So when my sister gave me loads of these ripe pears from my 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. I was immediately intrigued as I had never baked with rosemary before.

We start with a buttery pear compote infused with the chopped rosemary.

The lovely aromatic compote is then cooled and stirred into the cake batter and baked till golden brown in colour.

A pear and rosemary compote in a small glass bowl

Cake batter in a bundt pan.

Freshly baked pear and honey cake in a baking pan.

A Fabulous Fall Dessert

This bundt cake is simple and pretty with a slightly dense texture. And…oh…so moist!

You’ll find that it actually tastes better the next day which makes it a perfect make ahead cake.

That’s so worth considering when planning a large family gathering as this frees up much needed oven space.

And then all that’s needed before serving is a light or generous dusting of powdered sugar for a little extra love and you’ll have a fabulous Fall dessert!

Pear cake with honey and rosemary on a black platter.

Pear cake dusted with powdered sugar.

How to make a pear and rosemary compote 

  • In a medium sized sauce pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
  • Add in the chopped pear, rosemary and cook for a few minutes until the pears are soft, while stirring occasionally.
  • Remove the pear and rosemary mixture from the heat and let it cool completely.
  • It’s so simple yet so flavourful!

Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake.

Sliced pear cake scented with rosemary.

How to Remove a Bundt Cake From Its Pan

  • As a good practice always grease and flour your bundt pans and I’ve got some great tips on how to prep your Bundt pans for baking on my Ciambella, Italian Lemon Sponge Cake recipe.
  • Once your cake is baked, allow it to cool in its pan while resting on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. If you let it sit too long in the pan, it will start to stick from the dampness as its cooling off.
  • Before inverting the cake, loosen the edges with a butter knife or thin rubber spatula if needed.
  • Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and gently tap around the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the cake further.
  • Lift the pan off the cake and allow the cake to cool completely before dusting with the powdered sugar.

Three slices of pear and honey cake on parchment paper.

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

Other Fabulous Fall Inspired Desserts You’ll Love:

Happy baking everyone!

This Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake Recipe was originally published September 21, 2016 and republished September 28, 2019 with updated photos and content.

Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake.
Print Recipe
0 from 0 votes

Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake

A deliciously moist pear Bundt cake, scented with honey and rosemary.
Course: Bundt Cake
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake
Servings: 12
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

 

 

Italian Mostaccioli Cookie Recipe

by 48 Comments

This Italian Mostaccioli Cookie Recipe is sure to bring a nostalgic feel to your family gathering.

Italian Mostaccioli cookies on a silver rack

These soft, two bite cookies are chock-full of finely ground almonds and filled with a lovely aromatic essence from both ground cloves and cinnamon.

A touch of limoncello with orange and lemon zests lends a lovely citrus taste to these soft cake-like cookies.

They’re also flavoured with both cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate which are then enveloped in more chocolate goodness.

About Mostaccioli Cookies

The origin of this cookie is said to date back 300 hundred years before the birth of Christ and rooted deep in Italian history. However not all food historians seem to agree on this. The consensus however, is that the mostaccioli cookies have greatly evolved throughout the years.

In the old country these cookies were made with Wine Must. It was used as a sweetening agent because of its high glucose content. Wine Must is basically pressed grapes containing all components of the fruit. This was a time when sugar or even honey were not readily available. A time when people made do with what they had on hand.

They were also made in different shapes and sizes with intricate patterns depicting historical animals. Or items such as baskets or even the palm. Some were made with jewel like decorations. These were sold at auctions in order to raise money for charities.

It wasn’t until centuries later that this clove and cinnamon scented cookie gained in popularity. Most families nowadays have their own unique way of making them. From sculpted cookies to biscotti like shapes. Or the more popular diamond shaped one that you see here today.

While some contain no leavening agent yielding a harder cookie, these are soft and almost cake-like.

Mostaccioli cookies with honey on a silver cooling rack

Italian Mostaccioli Cookie Recipe

You’ll be working with a very soft dough and will need to flour your work surface, rolling pin and hands when shaping and cutting the cookies.

I used a 2 inch diamond shaped cookie cutter to form the diamond shaped cookies. You can also use a knife to cut them into diamond shapes.

I chose to dip half the batch of cookies in semi-sweet chocolate and the other half in white chocolate. I find this makes a lovely presentation when platted together on a large platter.

Keep in mind to allow sufficient time for the chocolate to set before platting…trust me on this!

Then simply enjoy with your favourite beverage!

Happy baking dear friends!

Italian cookies dipped in white chocolate on a rack

Italian Mostaccioli Cookies dipped in dark and white chocolate

 

If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!

White and dark chocolate cookies on a silver rack
Print Recipe
3 from 3 votes

Italian Mostaccioli Cookie Recipe

A traditional Italian cookie with ground almonds, sweetened with honey, scented with both orange and lemon zest, cloves, cinnamon and dipped in chocolate.
Course: Cookie
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Italian cookie, Italian cookie recipe, Italian mostaccioli cookie
Servings: 6 1/2 dozen
Author: Marisa

Ingredients

  • COOKIE DOUGH
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 cups almonds very finely ground
  • 1/3 cup baking cocoa powder I used dutch processed
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup honey
  • orange zest from 1 large orange
  • lemon zest from 1 medium sized lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons Limoncello or substitute with the juice of one lemon
  • 3 ounces coarsely grated semi-sweet or bitter sweet chocolate
  • FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE
  • 12 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
  • 12 ounces white chocolate
  • vegetable oil for thinning the chocolate

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the flour, finely ground almonds, cocoa powder, cloves, cinnamon, baking powder and salt then set aside.
  • Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, beat the eggs together.
  • Mix in the sugar and honey, beating until very well combined.
  • Stir in the orange and lemon zest, the vanilla extract and limoncello.
  • Slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined.
  • Stir in the grated chocolate.
  • The dough will be very soft and pliable.
  • Working with small portions of the dough at a time (about 1 heaping cupful) transfer to a well floured surface.
  • With a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/3 of an inch thick.
  • Use a 2 inch diamond cookie cutter to shape and cut out the cookies and then transfer to the prepared baking sheet while spacing them about 1 inch apart. (dipping the cookie cutter in flour before each use will tremendously help for easy release.)
  • Re-rolled the scraps to shape and cut just 1 more time.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. The cookies should still be slightly soft to the touch when ready.
  • While one batch is baking in the oven continue rolling and cutting with the remaining dough.
  • Make sure the cookies cool completely before dipping in chocolate.
  • CHOCOLATE COATING:
  • Melt the semi-sweet chocolate using a double boiler or in the microwave, using a microwave safe bowl on high for about 90 seconds stirring at 30 seconds interval.
  • Thin the chocolate with a little bit of vegetable oil to loosen the consistency somewhat for easy dipping.
  • Dip half a batch of the cookies into the melted semi-sweet chocolate and place on a cooling rack till the chocolate sets.
  • Repeat by melting the white chocolate and coating the remaining cookies.
  • Before the white chocolate sets, use a piping bag filled with dark melted chocolate to dot the tops then simply run a toothpick through the dots to create a pretty pattern.
  • Allow for the chocolate to set completely before storing.