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Fudgy chocolate, warm chai and tender pears all come together in this chocolate chai and pear skillet cake!

Chocolate chai and pear skillet cake in a cast iron skillet on a gray and blue napkin shot overhead

Anything made and served in a cast iron skillet is impressive. No one is under-whelmed when a gooey cookie comes out in a skillet. And this chocolate chai and pear skillet cake does not disappoint visually or in taste!

Warm chai spices tie this whole cake together and warm you right up! The cake bakes into almost a brownie texture with soft roasted pears and chocolate chips dotting the dish. Add a scoop of ice cream and this is a dream!

Seattle had a big snow storm a couple weeks ago, and thankfully it didn’t disrupt our lives – it was just a beautiful scape of white, fluffiness that stuck around for two whole days before it disappeared. While it was here, me and the boys made the most of it making our excursions outside to play, and our old dog Huck had the best time of all.

Chocolate chai and pear skillet cake in a cast iron skillet with a slice removed

But once it’s time to come inside, I have a hankering for something warm and cozy. This chocolate chai and pear skillet cake fit that bill. You roast the pears in the skillet to soften them up before slicing them and fanning them out on top of the beautifully fluffy chocolate batter before it goes into the oven.

Pick Your Spice

The beauty of this recipe is that you can mix and match your spice blends to fit your mood and the chocolate and pear adapt beautifully. Chai spice is a blend of lots of different kinds of spice, like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and more. You can use a single spice in place of chai. Ginger pairs with pear and chocolate on it’s own, but the three together are a smash hit.

Other spices or blends you can try could be, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, ginger, cardamom, speculoos, or allspice!

Chocolate chai and pear skillet cake in a cast iron skillet on a gray and blue napkin shot overhead with a slice removed.

If you don’t have a skillet?

Yes, you can definitely make this in a traditional baking pan or cake tin. The beauty of a cast iron skillet is that you can roast the pears in the skillet and turn around and use it for baking too.

If you use a skillet like I did, I used the 10 inch skillet. Using a larger or smaller skillet will change the baking times slightly, so monitor your chocolate chai and pear skillet cake as it bakes.

Need More Skillet Desserts?

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Overhead view of Chocolate Chai Pear Skillet Cake

Chocolate Chai & Pear Skillet Cake

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  • Author: Megan Keno
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 skillet 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Fudgy chocolate, warm chai and tender pears all come together in this chocolate chai and pear skillet cake!

Ingredients

Units Scale

Roasted Pears

  • 1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 3 Bartlett Pears, halved and cored

Chocolate Chai Skillet Cake

  • 1/2 cup Flour
  • 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
  • 1 tsp Chai Spice – or other spice or spice blend
  • 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 3/4 cup Sugar
  • 2 Eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1/3 cup Chocolate Chips
  • Powdered Sugar, optional for garnish

Instructions

ROASTED PEARS

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Melt butter in a 10″ skillet, over medium-high heat.
  2. Place the pears cut side down and allow the pears to start sauté for about 5 minutes. Gently flip over to rounded side.
  3. Place skillet with the flipped pears into the oven to continue to roast, about 10-12 minutes until they are soft when poked through with a fork.
  4. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cutting board to cool.
  5. When they are cooled, with the pears laying on the flat sides, slice the pears into 1/2″ slices. To fit them into the pan, remove the top 1/3 of the pear (where the fruit narrows to stem area. This will help give you space in the pan to create the fanned look in the pears. But don’t throw them out, they are delicious on their own!) Using a pie knife slide it under the cut pear, and gently press onto the cut pear so they slide into a fanned look.

CHOCOLATE CHAI CAKE

  1. Reduce oven to 325 degrees. Spray the skillet with non stick spray.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, chai spice, baking powder, and salt together.
  3. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg until pale yellow. Whisk in melted butter, and vanilla.
  4. Fold the flour into the mixture to create a batter. And at the end fold in the chocolate chips.
  5. Pour the batter into the skillet and spread it around to the edges. It may start to get warm and melt from the residual heat from the skillet, but that is okay. Gently fan the pear slices on top. They will start to sink, that is okay!
  6. Return the skillet with the pears to the oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick placed into the center comes out clean, or with just a few crumbs.
  7. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Or serve warm with ice cream.