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Baking recipe · from the recipe book

Cardamom Pear Loaf Cake with Vanilla Swirl

A tender, moist loaf fragrant with cardamom and cinnamon, studded with juicy pear and ribboned with a creamy vanilla ricotta swirl.

Cardamom Pear Loaf Cake with Vanilla Swirl

Ingredients

  • 1¾ cups230 gAll-purpose flour
  • 2½ tsp5 gGround cardamom
  • 1⅛ tsp3 gGround cinnamon
  • 1¾ tsp8 gBaking powder
  • ½ tsp2 gBaking soda
  • ½ tsp3 gSalt
  • 1½ cups sliced220 gPearspeeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 1 cup180 gGranulated sugardivided: 150 g for batter, 30 g for filling
  • ⅓ cup80 gCanola oil
  • 3 large150 gEggsdivided: 2 eggs (100 g) for batter, 1 egg (50 g) for filling, at room temperature
  • ⅔ cup160 gPlain yogurt, low-fatat room temperature
  • 2½ tsp10 gVanilla extractdivided: half for batter, half for filling
  • ¾ cup200 gPart-skim ricottadrained of excess liquid
  • 1 tsp5 gUnsalted buttersoftened, for greasing the pan

Steps

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with the butter and line it with a parchment sling.
  2. Make the vanilla filling first: whisk the ricotta, the 30 g portion of the sugar, the 1 egg set aside for the filling and half of the vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cardamom, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Take out 1 tablespoon of this flour mixture and toss it with the pear in a small bowl so the fruit doesn't sink.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 150 g of sugar with the 2 eggs for the batter until pale, about 1 minute. Whisk in the canola oil, the yogurt and the remaining half of the vanilla.
  5. Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture just until no dry streaks remain, then fold in the floured pear.
  6. Spread half of the batter in the pan. Spoon the vanilla filling over it, leaving a small border, then cover with the remaining half of the batter. Swirl once lengthwise with a knife.
  7. Bake 60 to 70 minutes, tenting with foil after 40 minutes if the top browns fast, until a toothpick in the cake part comes out clean and the center no longer jiggles; the filling should reach 160°F (71°C).
  8. Cool in the pan 20 minutes, then lift out by the parchment and cool completely on a rack, about 1 hour, before cutting into 12 slices. Refrigerate leftovers.

Food safety: Don't taste raw dough or batter: raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs.

Contains: Milk, Egg, Gluten.

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Saved in the Every Helping recipe book on October 24, 2026.

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