Apple Pear Cake
A moist, fruit-filled loaf cake packed with diced apples and pears, layered with cinnamon sugar, and finished with a light dusting of powdered sugar.
Servings: 18 servings
Equipment
- 2 9 x 5 inch baking pans
Ingredients
Fruit
- 2 Granny Smith apples cored and diced
- 2 McIntosh apples peeled, cored and diced
- 2 Barlett pears peeled, cored, and diced
Dry Ingredients
- 3¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
Cinnamon Sugar Layer
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- pinch freshly grated nutmeg
For the Pans
- softened butter
- flour for dusting
Finishing
- Confectioners' (powdered) sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9×5-inch loaf pans, then dust with flour and tap out the excess — this is the step that actually prevents the sticking this cake is known for.
- Peel, core, and dice the apples and pears into roughly ½-inch pieces. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the oil and granulated sugar until well combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition, then stir in the vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined — don't overmix, or the crumb turns dense.
- In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon sugar layer ingredients: sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Divide one-third of the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar, then top with half the diced fruit.
- Spread another one-third of the batter over the fruit — an offset spatula or the back of a spoon works well, and it doesn't need to fully cover the fruit.
- Top with the remaining fruit and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon sugar.
- Finish with the remaining batter, spreading it gently to cover most of the fruit while leaving a few pieces visible — that exposed fruit caramelizes slightly in the oven, which is what gives the top its texture.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. If the tops brown too quickly in the last 15 minutes, tent loosely tent with foil.
- Cool the loaves in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.