Caramelized Chai Pear Cake
Fluffy layers of chai spiced vanilla cake filled with caramelized buttery pears Vanilla bean custard filling with a perfect layer of refined sugar free jam too!
Ingredients
For the Chai Spice Mix:
- 2 Tbs Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon Cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 3 teaspoon Ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Cloves
- ¼ teaspoon Allspice
For the Pear Compote:
- 4 Medium Bartlett Pears
- 4 Tbs Vegan Butter 56g
- 2 Tbs Sugar *see notes for sugar free 28g
- 3 teaspoon Chai Spice
- 2 Tbs Brandy *optional 30ml
For the Custard:
- 1¼ cup Plant Milk 296ml
- ⅓ cup Sugar *see notes for sugar free 70g
- 2 Tbs Cornstarch 16g
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric *optional for color
- 1 Tbs Vegan Butter 14g
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 5ml
Instructions
- First mix your chai spices together set aside
- Next make the vanilla cake recipe as listed on that recipe post & video tutorial but be sure to add 2 Tablespoons of the chai spices to the dry ingredients
- Divide the batter between 3-8" greased & parchment lined cake pans & bake in the preheated oven for approx 30 minutes or when a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs, not raw batter
- Next make the caramelized pear compote by peeling, coring & chopping your pears into small pea sized cubes (you will get about 2- 2½ cups total
- Heat a large skillet with the vegan butter until melted & sizzling then add the pears,
- Stir to coat the pears then add the sugar of your choice, stir well then add 1 Tbs of the chai spices and cook until tender, add the optional brandy to deglaze the pan then transfer to a bowl to cool
- Next prepare the custard: Combine all the ingredients except for the vanilla extract & the vegan butter in a medium sauce pot over & cook over medium to high heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly to avoid scorching the bottom .
- Once it starts to bubble let it boil on low heat for about 10 seconds.
- Remove from the heat & add the vegan butter & vanilla extract, stir until melted & smooth.
- Now make the lower sugar buttercream recipe according to the instructions on that page but INSTEAD OF APPLES YOU WILL USE PEARS
- Add the remaining chai spices to the buttercream recipe at the last stage of mixing
- Once the cakes are completely cooled (I Like to refrigerate or freeze mine for several hours to make sure they are very COLD)
- Build the cake with a ring of buttercream to hold in the jam layer & then half of the pear compote & half of the custard filling on top of that.
- Repeat with the next layer of cake then do a crumb coating & refrigerate to set for at least 30 minutes
- Ice the cake with the remaining buttercream & decorate with dehydrated pears *see notes
Video
Notes
Use your favorite recipe for vanilla cake or EVEN GLUTEN FREE! Just add the chai spiced to the batter!
Any buttercream recipe you love the most will be great with the addition of chai spice at the last stage of mixing
However today I wanted to use up all the pears for a lower refined sugar buttercream made from a base of cooked pears resulting in a silky smooth Ermine Buttercream spinoff!
Using a mandoline slicer is the best way to get paper thin slices of pears for dehydrating.
If you don't have a dehydrator setting on your oven just keep them at the lowest possible setting for a couple hours and they will eventually dry out. Silicone mats are the best option for dehydrating fruits
Making this cake with sugar substitutes is your option, you can of course use all granulated sugar instead Read more about Sugar Free Baking here
Storage: Caramelized Pear Chai Cake can be displayed at room temperature for a couple hours but due to the custard filling it should be kept refrigerated until serving.
Will stay fresh in the refrigerator wrapped loosely for up to 5 days
Will stay fresh in the refrigerator wrapped loosely for up to 5 days
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!