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Pear Pecan Spice Cake with Caramel Drizzle

Prep Time:  40 Minutes

     Cook Time:  35 Minutes

     Serves:  10

Wave a ripened, just-cut Bosc pear beneath your nose and you might channel Snuffles, the 1960s cartoon bloodhound who would hug himself, take a soaring jump and float back down with a long, audible sigh.

Ingredients

  • Cake:
  • 1 cup flour, plus some for the pan
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ tsp. baking soda
  • ¾ tsp. cinnamon
  • ⅛ tsp. ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 2 to 4 ripe pears, (3/4 to 1 pound total), peeled and diced
  • ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
  • 4 tbsp. butter, melted
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3 tbsp. milk
  • Caramel drizzle:
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tbsp. shortening
  • 1 ½ tbsp. butter
  • 2 tbsp. milk
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • Garnish:
  • 12-16 pecan halves

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. For cake: Butter and flour an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in bowl. Stir in pears, pecans, butter, egg, and milk. Spread in pan. Bake 30-35 minutes. Cool cake completely.
  3. For caramel drizzle icing: Bring brown sugar, shortening, butter, milk, and salt to boil in a saucepan. Cool it a few moments. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.
  4. To serve: Run knife around cake edges, remove from pan and use a long, thin-bladed knife to halve the cake horizontally. Spread some icing over bottom half. Top with second half. Spread remaining icing over top, allowing some to drizzle down the sides.
  5. Garnish with pecan halves.

Notes