Pear Cake with Lemon-Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

 

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Cake

 

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup whole milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups coarsely grated peeled Bosc pears (from about 3 pounds), well drained
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

For cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices in large bowl. Make well in center of flour mixture. Add oil, eggs, milk and vanilla; whisk just until evenly moistened. Fold in pears and nuts; divide between pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks.

Frosting

  • 1 8 ounce package of cream cheese
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon of Meyer lemon zest (or regular lemon)
  • 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
Beat the cream cheese and sugar in mixer until soft.  Add the lemon zest and mix until combined.  Slowly trickle the honey into the frosting and beat until very soft and creamy.  Add the whipped cream and fold into the cream cheese mixture.  It will be sort of runny so refrigerate it for a bit before frosting the cake.