The holidays are populated with songs about partridges in a pear tree, golden rings, and lords leaping and calling birds. Actually, there is some debate over whether it is "calling birds" or "colly birds", which is an old term for blackbirds. But, putting that aside, let's go back to the pear tree and pears.
🍐 The Amish and Pears
The Amish and pears are a common pair. Pears are a frequent fruit found in many Amish communities.
- Fresh pears: Amish families grow their own pears in their orchards, and they also purchase them from local farmers' markets. Pears are a popular snack and dessert fruit, and they are also used in baking and cooking.
- Preserved pears: The Amish are known for their canning and preserving skills, and pears are a fruit that they often preserve. They can be canned in syrup, made into pear butter, or dried for later use.
- Pear dishes: Pears are a versatile fruit that can be used in a variety of dishes. The Amish often use them in pies, cobblers, crisps, and cakes. They also enjoy them in salads, jams, and chutneys.
❓ Why Pear Cake?
Pear cake just seems to lend itself well to Christmas. But of course you can have it any time of year, but it just seems like a good cake to have around the holidays.
Pears - in my opinion - are a very underrated fruit. Apples, peaches, and bananas always seem to get the prime shelf space in the grocery store and a spot in peoples' sack lunches. But the lowly pear? Mmmmm, nothing better than a soft, juicy pear! Of course, banana bread, banana muffins, and puddings are popular desserts. But what about "pear cake?" Yes, there is such a thing. It's a really moist cake, not overpoweringly sweet, a great dessert or a slice for breakfast is tasty!
📋Step-By-Step Pear Cake
This is a great recipe that is super easy. So there are not a lot of step-by-step instructions, just a few key things and suggestions:
- Feel free to leave out the pecans, I always do.
- Wait until the cake is cool to apply the glaze if you can.
- Feel free to add even more pears if you are like me and more of everything means better.
- For me, there is no such thing as too much cinnamon, so feel free to add more.
🎂 More Popular Amish Cake Recipes
Cake For Company
🖨️ Full Recipe
Old-Fashioned Pear Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 2 cups pears, (recommend canned in heavy syrup, approx 1 ½ cans) chopped and drained (reserve juice)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
Glaze
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons syrup from the pears
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325
- In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, and eggs.
- Beat until creamy.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
- Stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture until smooth.
- Add vanilla.
- Fold in pears and pecans.
- Pour mixture into a well-greased bundt or tube pan.
- Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
- Pour glaze onto a cool cake.
Donalee Sumner
1 1/2 cups of oil seems like a lot of oil...is this correct?
Buddy Samuels
I just finished this cake. Choppinng pears at 5:30 this morning proved to be good therapy. Helped get my morning started off well. The test of my baking skills will depend on how well my fellow co-workers like it later today.
Buddy Samuels
the cake was a tremendous success at work, putting it mildly. A lady who doesn't like pears at all, had a piece and thought it was fantastic!
Kevin
Cool, Buddy, so glad to hear that!! It is a great cake!
Carolyn
The pear cake looks yummy . I will definitely give it a try. Keven I personally love everything about your column . I believe I speak for the majority . You have the right to use any word you please , in reference to CHRISTMAS tree. And I also love to hear about your family. ( especially Aster ) It gives the column a personal touch. Keep up the good work. and k
eep sending pictures of our little girl.
D. Smith
I don't use vegetable oil. Can I substitute butter or maybe a mixture of butter and coconut oil or something in place of the veg oil? Thank you.
Kevin Williams
You could use coconut or canola in place of vegetable oil!