February 13, 2018
(last updated December 31, 2024) 
This rich, elegant vegan chocolate pear cake is the most wonderful holiday dessert, but it can be enjoyed at any time of year. It’s even a lovely snack cake! Dark chocolate and pear may be an unexpected pairing, but they work so well together. The chunks of pear add moisture and texture to the cake, and chopped dark chocolate is a simple and lovely decoration.
This vegan chocolate pear cake has become a part of my annual holiday traditions. I look forward to it every year.
The cake is elegant yet simple, decadent but not gooey or overly rich. It’s for chocolate lovers, but it’s not overwhelming.
Best of all, the cake is easy to make and to decorate. While it’s a perfect dish for hosting or for festive celebrations, it’s also a good every day cake (aka snack cake).
Try having a slice with a cup of tea in the afternoon, or serve it as a simple vegan dessert. There’s no wrong way to enjoy it, and I’ve yet to meet the person who doesn’t love it.
An unexpectedly wonderful pairing
This cake came to be when I had a box of pears at home that needed using quickly. The pears were about to be overripe, and I wasn’t sure what to do with them.
By that point, I’d eaten them sliced and plain, put them into my apple, pear, and cranberry crisp, and made ginger pear muesli with creamy cashew milk. I was running out of ideas.
I started to research pear desserts, and I saw a number of online recipes for chocolate pear cakes. Most featured whole or halved pears, inserted into the center of otherwise plain chocolate loaf cakes.
I was intrigued. I’d never thought to put pears and chocolate together, but I was up for trying it.
Now that chocolate pear cake has become a favorite, I can confidently vouch for the combination of ingredients.
Pear has a subtle taste, so it doesn’t clash with chocolate. Yet it adds sweetness, offsetting the bitterness of dark chocolate, and I think it gives the cake dimension of flavor.
Additionally, pear does what any fruit will do in a baking recipe: it adds moisture to the cake. I incorporate some chopped pear into the cake batter itself, and I reserve the rest for decorating.
What type of pear should I use?
There’s quite some variety in the world of pears. Some are small, while others are substantial; some pears are quite firm, while others are very tender. Which type is best for baking?
I’ve most often used Bartlett, Bosc, or Anjou pears when I make this cake. More important than the specific variety is using a pear that’s ripe and tender, plus large in size.
If you only have small fruits, it’s fine to chop and use two of them in this recipe rather than one larger pear.
How to make vegan chocolate pear cake
I’m a cake enthusiast. Over time, I’ve discovered that I bake and enjoy cake more regularly if I keep my cake recipes simple and accessible.
My chocolate pear cake is no exception. Yes, it looks and sounds a little fancy, but it’s actually really easy to prepare.
Step 1: Whisk together the dry ingredients
You’ll start by whisking dry ingredients together. These are flour, leavening agents, salt, cocoa powder, and a touch of cinnamon.
Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients
Next, whisk together your “wet” ingredients.
Most of the time, I use oil as a fat source in cakes, rather than creamed vegan butter. My go-to oil for baking is refined avocado oil, but you can use a mildly flavored olive oil or another neutral-flavored vegetable oil (such as grapeseed or safflower) as well.
The other wet ingredients are cold water, apple cider vinegar (this activates the baking powder and soda that make the cake rise), and agave or maple syrup.
I use a liquid sweetener for this recipe, rather than cane sugar, which means that it’s refined sugar-free.
Step 3: Fold half of the pear into the cake batter
The chocolate pear cake calls for one large, ripe pear, which has been diced. You’ll fold half of the cut pear into the chocolate cake batter itself before transferring the batter to a prepared 9-inch/23cm round baking pan.
Step 4: Decorate
Before baking, it’s time to decorate. And the decorations for the chocolate pear cake are refreshingly low-key.
Just garnish the top with the remaining chopped pear, along with 2 ounces / 60g of chopped, vegan dark chocolate. (Most dark chocolate that’s labeled as 65% or higher is vegan.)
I also like to dust the top of the cake with sanding sugar, demerara sugar, or cane sugar. This gives it some texture on the top, plus a subtle, but elegant frosted appearance.
The sugar is optional, but you’ll only need a tablespoon, and it’s a pretty effect.
Step 5: Bake
Bake the cake for forty-five minutes, or until the top is rounded and set.
Because there’s dark chocolate on top of the cake and fruit inside the cake, using a toothpick to gauge doneness isn’t very effective.
Instead, rely on visual cues. The top of the cake should be puffed and firm around the chunks of chocolate. It shouldn’t appear gooey, and it should have a slightly domed shape.
I’ve found that it’s better to bake this recipe a few minutes too long than too few. If you remove the cake from the oven too early, it’ll collapse due to the weight of chopped chocolate and fruit on top.
Step 6: Cool
For this cake, as well as my vegan chocolate bundt cake and vegan chocolate snack cake, some cooling time is important.
I recommend cooling the cake for an entire hour before releasing it from its pan. After that, you should cool it for another several hours before slicing.
This way, the top of the cake, with it’s chunky chocolate and pear decoration, will be fully set and firm before you serve the cake.
When I make the chocolate pear cake for friends, I usually prepare it in the morning for that coming evening, or I make it one full day ahead of time.
After cooling, the cake will be ready to slice and enjoy. If you like, you can add a scoop of vegan chocolate or vanilla ice cream or some vegan tofu whipped cream with cashews (my go-to homemade vegan whipped cream).
Storage
In order to keep the chocolate pear cake nicely moist, it’s best to store it either at room temperature for a short period of time or to freeze it for longer storage.
You can wrap the cake gently and store it at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can freeze it (whole or in slices) for up to eight weeks, defrosting in the fridge before serving.
Can the vegan chocolate pear cake be made gluten-free?
Yes, it’s possible to make this vegan cake without gluten. If you need to modify the recipe, I recommend using a gluten-free, all-purpose flour blend that you trust.
My go-to is the King Arthur Measure for Measure flour.
Vegan Dark Chocolate Pear Cake
Author –Yields: 10 slices
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour* (180g)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder (25g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup maple or agave syrup (180ml)
- 2/3 cup cold water (160ml)
- 1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil (80ml; I use refined avocado, grapeseed, or safflower oil)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ripe pear, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (60g)
- 1 tablespoon sparkling, demerara or cane sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and lightly oil or line a 9-inch /23cm round or springform cake pan with parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the syrup, water, oil, and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold them together until they're thoroughly combined, with no streaks of dry flour visible. A few small clumps in the batter are OK. Fold half of the chopped pear into this cake batter.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Distribute the remaining chopped pear and the chopped dark chocolate over the top of the cake. If you like, sprinkle a tablespoon of coarse or cane sugar over the top of the cake.
- Transfer the cake to the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the visible cake portion on top is domed, puff, and firm (the chocolate will still be hot and molten). You can lightly tap a portion of that cooled top cake to see that it's set. If you need to bake the cake for 50-55 minutes to achieve a set top, that's fine.
- Remove the cake from the oven. Allow it to cool for a whole hour, then release the cake from its pan and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool for another several hours before slicing and enjoying. Leftover cake can be stored at room temperature for up to two days or frozen for up to eight weeks.
Notes
*You can use the same amount of a trusted GF, all purpose flour blend.
This cake is inspired by Peter Berley’s chocolate cake in The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen,
Video
I’ve made the chocolate pear cake so many times over the years. Better still, so many readers and visitors of this blog have made it also.
A few of them have told me that the cake has become an annual Christmas tradition or holiday tradition.
This gives me so much joy. If you’re just discovering the recipe, I hope that you’ll also come to love it and that you’ll make it again and again!
xo
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Leave a Comment
I canโt believe I havenโt seen this recipe before. I have a pear tree on my farm. I have an abundance of pears and just searched your website and happily found this recipe. Itโs so easy to put together and so so delicious. ๐
Can I substitute the chocolate for cocoa powder? According to google it should be approx 6 tbsp and 2 tbsp of oil? Also can I bump up the pears? I’ve got a lot of hard pears to use up. Nigella uses two cans, approx 500 grammes. As they’re hard, should I soften them first or should baking soften them enough? Is steaming, microwaving, or another method most effective for softening hard pears btw? It’s a frequent problem! Lots of questions but you hopefully know better than me. Thank you.
Hi Tracey, I just updated the recipe with metric equivalents! For the oil, it should be 80ml (5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoonโit’s a liquid measurement). I wouldn’t substitute extra cocoa powder for the chocolate. You can simply omit the 2 oz. dark chocolate from the recipe.
For the pears, per this article, I’d recommend poaching in simple syrup as the best way to soften if you need to use the pears immediately. David Lebovitz has a good article on how to poach pears, which should help.
I hope the recipe turns out!
I am wondering if I could use peaches. Any thoughts?
Hi Regina! I wouldn’t necessarily think to pair peaches and chocolate, but if you like that combination, you should try it! I think that from a texture/technical perspective, it’ll definitely work ๐
I made a mistake by folding in the chocolate at the combining stage. It was still delicious and so interesting with the pear encrusting the top. I used Bob red mills GF flour and xanthan gum. It was So Good. I will be returning to this recipe a lot. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed it! And great to hear about your GF modification, too.
Loved the texture of this cake. Super moist and fluffy. I wish I had omitted the cinnamon, I find that it overpowers the pear and chocolate flavors. To me, this tastes like a cinnamon cake.
Hiya, i am currently doing Veganuary so can’t wait to bake this ! is there another egg substitute i could use instead of apple cider vinegar in this recipe ? or is that the best one.
Will be posting my results on my food insta @kellykitchen18 if you would like to check it out ๐
Hi Georgina! White vinegar is also fine, as is lemon juice ๐
Had some pears that I wanted to bake into something and this was just the thing for them. Perfectly moist and just the right level of sweetness! I did run out of maple syrup (only had 1/2 cup) so I substituted the last 1/4 cup with sugar and it worked beautifully. Can’t wait to make this again.
Hooray! I’m so glad it turned out nicely.
So yummy. I had to substitute coconut sugar & water mixture for the maple syrup. It turned out great. It’s definitely going into my permanent recipe collection.
I’m so glad!
The flavour was very good! However, the texture came out a bit gelled. We still had it but wondering if we made something wrong or what should the actual texture be like?
Hi Ana! I think it just needs more time in the oven. The top should be moist but firm, with chunks of chocolate, and the rest of the cake should be normal cake texture. Give it an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven next time, and see how that goes ๐ Additionally, you can use an oven thermometer to make sure the oven is the right temperature (some run hot, some cold). I hope that helps!
Wonderful. I halved the recipe and used a 6 inch springform pan (there’s only 2 of us). I love how easy it is, but looks really fancy when it’s all baked up. Super light and delicious too.
This was great! Made with cardamom instead of cinnamon but no other changes. Brought it to a dinner party and everyone loved it. The crunchy topping is wonderful!
Thanks
So glad you liked it!
Made this into 7 cupcakes with 85% dark chocolate pieces, without the pear. They were on the less sweet side, but were perfect for me and tasted wonderful. Thanks!
I’d love to try this cake, it looks really delicious ๐ Is it possible to substitute the maple syrup for regular sugar? I have no liquid sweetener at home in the moment
Yes, I think that will work. Try 3/4 cup cane sugar and add to the wet ingredients!
It’s lovely. I glad to read this.
Restaurant type of cake. Very nice. Thank you for separate making box and have the print option.
Thanks for sharing Gena. Iโve always had this love-at-first-bite thing with chocolate pear cake. I first prepared it during the spring of 2013 and there is no week that passes by that I do not take make it at least once. But the weird thing is, my approach is kinda different from yours. I’ll definitely try yours as well.
This is delicious, very light and great texture. Thank you.
So glad you liked it!
Reading about this cake is making mouth water now. Looks absolutely stunning!
A lovely cake! Not too sweet, and a great texture. Perfect for coffee and tea, or a slice in the evening after a cozy meal! Next time, Iโll add 1.5 pears, as I loved the burst of sweetness and moisture from the chunks! Used an alkalized cocoa, but imagine a natural cocoa would bring out the fruity notes in the pear. Delish! Thank you for sharing!!
I am so glad you enjoyed it!
This was great! Made with cardamom instead of cinnamon but no other changes. Brought it to a dinner party and everyone loved it. The crunchy topping is wonderful!
Hi Gena! Iโve baked this once, it was amazingly moist ๐ was looking at your note, and was wondering if you have tried substituting with a GF flour blend before? Thank you!!
I haven’t tried it myself with this cake, but if you use a blend you’ve had good results with in the past, I would imagine it’ll work nicely! Glad you enjoyed it.
This was absolutely amazing!! I made this recipe in mini brownie silicone molds as I always share cake with my work colleagues and they went down a real treat! Thank you so much for this truly delicious recipe, from everyone in my ambulance station ๐
Hi Gena! ๐
I’m wondering if I could make this with spelt? Totally fine that that means it would be be more dense than with all purpose but just wondering if I should use the same amount?
This looks lovely and I’m keen to try it this week I was wondering if it would work as muffins rather than one single cake? Would the oven temp or timings need altered?
Hi Catriona,
I think it might work. I’d try the same temperature for 22-25 minutes. I hope it turns out well!
G
Looks delicious. I will try to make a weekend. Thank you so much gena.
I made this and it came out so good! I used vegan chocolate chips on top and it worked perfectly. The cake is moist but fluffy and so delicious. Also if you don’t have a spring form pan, don’t worry! You can just use a glass pie dish and it will come out great, just remember to grease it. I would love to try this with strawberries instead of pear sometime.
Your cake looks so chocolaty! and yummy of course! Adding pear to the cake is a very new and interesting idea. I’m sure it will add a great flavor to it different from how every chocolate cake tastes like. Another interesting thing is that you have used maple syrup instead of the usual granulated sugar! I’m sure it will really enhance the flavor. Need to try this out very soon.
I love Dark chocolate alot, specially when I eat them into cake style. It’s not too sweet but enough ๐
This cake is so nice, I’m thinking bout asking my bf to do it for me bc he’s very good at baking xD
By the way, the chocolate with the orange is so goodddd. How could you not love it :p
Ohhhh love the incorporation of the pear! Need to try this next time I need a sweet treat ๐
The kind of cake we like in my home, we’re not big on frosting. This cake looks so delicious, I’m sure it won’t last very long in my house.
I had to buy a springform pan to make this cake and it was 100% worth it! It was so delicious! Incredibly moist and flavorful! Everyone I shared it with loved it! Thanks so much for the awesome recipe!
When you make the vanilla version of this cake, do you change anything other than leaving out the cocoa powder?
Hi Gena –
This is the first time I’ve had the courage to comment on your website. This week, I’ve been really enjoying eating this cake so I had to speak up!! It came together so quickly and easily. Pears are not in season here in Japan, so I used blueberries and a handful of walnuts – delicious. Can’t wait for the pear season to roll around – I can imagine just how delectable this combo will be. Thank you!!
This sounds amazing! I definitely want to make this.
Oh Gena, this is an absolutely lovely and scrumptious looking cake! I love the combo of chocolate and pears!! And it’s easy!! I think I am going to try and make this or a version of it for my daughter-in-law when her birthday rolls around in a few weeks. Thank you!!! xoxo
I’ve never thought to mix pears and chocolate. Looks delicious!
this looks dark, moist and delicious!
OH YUM!! What a beautiful way to celebrate love – for oneself and others (even if the others are not in the same room). I will be making this cake soon.
My goodness Gena youโre amazing. This looks incredible. The second the weather starts to cool down here in Aus iโm making this beautiful cake!
I love dark chocolate and I love cake without frosting, so you can say how much I am loving this particular cake of yours. And those pears in between.. delicious!
This looks incredible, Gena! Definitely trying this soon ๐