This chocolate loaf cake is dense, rich, and moist. Whole pears poached in sweetened Earl Grey tea make this dessert a showstopper!
This post first appeared December 4, 2018, and was last updated October 17, 2020.
Today we’re sharing a chocolate loaf cake that requires a bit more work to make than the average loaf, however, is sure to impress guests. Essentially a rich chocolate cake studded with three, tender, Earl Grey tea-poached pears we promise, this recipe is a stunner!
We chose Earl Grey tea as the poaching liquid for the pears because we love it’s classic, floral flavour, but any tea would work. Chai tea-poached pears would be beautiful for the holiday season!
The pears are first peeled then gently cooked whole in sweetened Earl Grey until tender. After, they’re transferred to a loaf tin and enrobed in chocolate cake batter. The pears make the chocolate loaf cake extra moist! A gentle dusting of powdered sugar adds a rustic touch and creates a snowy effect perfect for the cold weather seasons.
Jump to:
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
For The Earl Grey-Poached Pears
- Water
- Earl Grey tea
- Sugar
- 1 vanilla bean (optional)
- Fresh pears
For The Chocolate Loaf Cake
- All-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Milk
- Sour cream
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
Method
Begin by poaching the peeled pears. Bring the water to a boil on the stovetop. Add the Earl Grey tea and turn down the heat. Let the tea steep in the boiling water, then remove the tea bags, add the sugar to the pot, and stir to dissolve.
Add the pears (and vanilla bean if using) to the pot. Bring the tea back to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the pears until tender. Carefully remove the poached pears from the pot and set them aside to cool.
Preheat the oven and grease a loaf tin lightly with butter. Line the pan with a parchment paper sling with overhang on both sides.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
Mix the milk and sour cream together in another bowl until smooth.
Using a hand or stand mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar and continue to mix a few minutes more.
Crack in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well incorporated.
Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk mixture to the bowl. Mix everything together on low speed until well incorporated. Add in the remaining flour and milk mixtures and continue to mix on low speed until the batter is just combined.
Add a few spoonfuls of chocolate batter to the bottom of the prepared loaf tin. Place the poached pears, bottom side down in the batter.
Spoon the remaining chocolate batter around the three pears. Bake the loaf until the top springs gently back when touched, then transfer it to a wire cooling rack. Cool the chocolate loaf cake completely before slicing.
Tips & Notes
To check if the pears are fully poached, you can gently prick the bottom of one with a fork. If the fork pierces the pear easily, it’s done.
Take this chocolate loaf cake up a notch by adding up to ½ cup (100 g) finely chopped dark chocolate.
Make sure to beat the butter until it is light, fluffy, and almost white in colour. Beating the butter to this extent adds air to the batter, resulting in a lighter fluffier loaf cake.
Substitutions
Any flavour of tea you like can be substituted for Earl Grey.
We like Bosc pears for this recipe.
You can substitute spelt flour for all-purpose. Whole wheat flour will also work, however, you may need to increase the amount of milk. Whole wheat flour sucks up more moisture than all-purpose, and a straight 1:1 substitution could result in a dry loaf.
Plain Greek yogurt can be used in place of the sour cream.
More Chocolatey Goodness!
Healthy Hazelnut Chocolate Balls
Double Chocolate Buckwheat Brownies
Recipe
Earl Grey Poached Pear Chocolate Loaf
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Medium sized pot
- Loaf tin
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- Hand or stand mixer
- Wire rack
Ingredients
For The Earl Grey-Poached Pears
- 4 cups water
- 5 teaspoons Earl Grey tea, if loose leaf, or 5 tea bags
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, optional
- 3 medium pears, peeled
For The Chocolate Loaf Cake
- 1-⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup milk
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Begin by poaching the pears. Bring the water to a boil on the stovetop in a medium-sized pot.
- Add the Earl Grey tea bags or leaves and turn down the heat.
- Let the tea steep in the boiling water for 5 minutes to infuse.
- Remove the tea bags, add the sugar to the pot, and stir to dissolve.
- Add the peeled pears (and vanilla bean if using) to the pot.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring the tea back to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and let the pears simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until tender.
- Once the pears are tender, carefully remove them from the pot and set them aside on a plate or in a bowl to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180ºC). Grease a loaf tin lightly with butter. Line the pan with a parchment paper sling with overhang on both sides.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix the milk and sour cream together in another bowl until smooth.
- Using a hand or stand mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the brown sugar and continue to mix a few minutes more.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well incorporated.
- Add in half of the flour mixture and half of the milk mixture.
- Mix everything together on low speed until well incorporated.
- Add in the remaining flour and milk mixtures and continue to mix on low speed until the chocolate batter is just combined.
- Add a few spoonfuls of batter to the bottom of the prepared loaf tin.
- Place the poached pears, bottom side down in the batter.
- Spoon the remaining chocolate batter around the three pears. Bake the loaf for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the top springs gently back when touched, then transfer it to a wire rack.
- Let the loaf cool for 20 minutes, then remove it from the tin. Cool the loaf completely before slicing.
Joy Kubow says
I am in the process of making this. It looks delicious! I didn’t see eggs listed in the ingredients. However you did say to add them. So I am guessing from the picture there are 2. So that is what I am using. Can’t wait to taste this!
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Joy, thanks so much for letting us know – there are two eggs, and they’ve been added back to the recipe card now! I hope you loved the cake : )
Niamh Corrigan says
How big is the loaf tin that you use?
Kelly Neil says
Hey Niamh! It’s a standard 9x3x3 inch (23x13x7 cm) loaf tin!
Crystal Wong says
1 cup flour should be 120-125g. Should I follow your recipe in cup measurements or gram measurements ?
Alexandra Daum says
One cup of flour is 150g, when weighed as a standard, and all of our recipes providing both grams and cups are correct for metric and imperial measurements. We always recommend metric as it is more reliable.
Karen Decoster says
I assume the pears can be poached in advance, yes?
Alexandra Daum says
Yes, definitely.
Sophia says
hello! i am not noticing any sugar for this cake. is there meant to be sugar in the recipe?
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Sophia, the cake is made with brown sugar, as listed in the recipe card.
Karline says
Hi Alexandra, can I make this cake the day before? Or bake it, and freeze it?
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Karline, I think the cake would be fine to make the day before. To freeze, I’m a bit skeptical, as I don’t think the pears would thaw that well.
Kerry says
Hello! I made this cake and it’s very good! However, the cake immediately around the pears was wet (sticks to the knife) even though the rest of it was fully baked. Is that normal due to the moisture from the pears or did I underbake the cake?
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Kerry, it’s probably due to the type of pear or how ripe it was. If it was really juicy, some of that probably just translated over into the cake around the fruit. Next time maybe try a slightly harder pear. Hope this helps!