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5 from 6 votes

Ginger Pear Cake

Ginger honey cake layers with pear buttercream and pear jam 
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Cake
Keyword: Ginger, Ginger cake, honey, pear, Pear Buttercream
Servings: 1 3-layer, 6-inch cake

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

  • 3 1/4 cups (390 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons (5.3 g) ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoons (2.1 g) cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (9 g) salt
  • 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking soda
  • 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar packed
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups (300 g) buttermilk room temperature

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

  • 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter slightly cold
  • 6 ounces cream cheese
  • 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar measured then sifted
  • 1/2 cup pear jam recipe above in post
  • 3 tablespoons (43.3 g) heavy whipping cream
  • Generous pinch of salt
  • *This buttercream is on the softer side and less stable than my typical buttercream recipes. I don't recommend piping with this recipe.

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

  • Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch pans with nonstick spray, line the bottoms with parchment and spray again. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
  • Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add in the brown sugar and cream together on medium speed for another minute.
  • On medium-low, gradually add in the eggs, molasses and honey. Beat on medium-high for another 2 to 3 minutes.
  • With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
  • Once mixed, evenly divide all of the batter into the prepared pans (about 16 ounces in each 8-inch pan or 12 ounces in each 6-inch pan).
  • Bake 25 to 30 minutes, checking around 25 minutes. When you insert a toothpick into the center of the cake, a few moist crumbs should come out on it. Remember, the cake continues to bake for 5 minutes as it cools in the pans. 

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

  • In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes.
  • On low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and jam. Once the everything is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat for another 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  • Remember to mix the frosting by hand with a wooden spoon or large spatula to push out the air to create a silky-smooth frosting.
  • With the cream cheese, this buttercream is a little "sticky." I like to do a "rustic" look with my buttercream when decorating it.

ASSEMBLY

  • Place the first cake layer on a cake board or cake stand. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting evenly over the cake layer. OPTIONAL: spread additional pear jam on top of the buttercream. Repeat for the second layer.
  • Apply a thin coat of frosting around the entire cake to lock in the crumbs. This coat of frosting does not need to look pretty, it's simply to lock in the crumbs so they don't get into the final coat of frosting. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes. 
  • After the crumb coat is set, continue to frost and decorate the cake with the remaining buttercream.