I had some leftover crumb topping from my Cranraisin Eggnog Muffins that I wanted to use up. I also had some pears and ricotta cheese that was about to go bad so I decided to make this coffee cake. I listed the measurements and instructions for the streusel topping but didn’t use it. Feel free to use this one or the topping recipe from the Cranraisin Eggnog Muffins. Both are delicious! But whatever you do, be sure to use pear brandy for that extra pear flavor in the coffee cake. If you don’t have pear brandy, regular brandy will do too.
Ingredients:
Coffee Cake:
- 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup of ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 teaspoon of pear brandy (I used Poire Williams)
- 2 medium ripe pears, unpeeled, cored and chopped
Streusel Topping:
- 1/2 cup of dark muscovado sugar
- 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt. Mix well and set aside.
Using a stand mixer (or mix by hand) add together egg, butter, ricotta cheese, milk and pear brandy. Mix until well combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the ricotta mixture until just moistened. Fold in pears and pour into prepared pan.
Make the crumb topping: In a small bowl mix in dark muscovado sugar, flour, butter and ground cinnamon. Use your fingers to mix until you have a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle streusel topping mixture evenly over the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick/tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the coffee cake cool in the pan on the cooling rack.
Adapted from About.com
uni homemaker 
This had such a distinct pear flavor. I loved the texture too, crumb topping and a moist cake with bits of pears. A great morning dish, or for dessert!
I agree! 🙂
This looks delicious! I have never tried to bake with ricotta but that is brilliant! Lovely post
Ooooh, I LOVE using ricotta in my baking. It really is delicious and makes everything super moist. 🙂
Im crazy of ricotta,very delicate dessert ,served with Amaretto will be Great Anne!!!ps lovely composition.
Ooooh, that’s interesting –Amaretto with ricotta! I’ll have to give that a try. Thanks for your kind words, Massi. 🙂
This looks incredible!
Thanks Cindy! 🙂
Your cakes are so tempting! I love the idea of the crunchy topping. And I do love pears. Funny, though! Here in the UK coffee cake is exactly that – made with coffee. Love that you Guys across the pond make cake to go with coffee instead.
If you love pear then you’ll love this coffee cake (minus the coffee in the cake but plus with a cup of coffee –the US way –ha!). I think the pear brandy really give it something extra. I’ll have to make another coffee cake with the actual coffee ingredient next time. 😉
Stunningly delicious coffee cake! Pears and pear brandy, double yum!! I never think of putting ricotta in the cakes. Great idea!!
Thank you so much Judy! The pear brandy is a must in this. The ricotta cheese makes this really moist. 🙂
A LOVELY looking cake, just fabulous! Happy New Year, Karen
Thank you Karen for the lovely comment. Happy new year! 🙂
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We finished this off this morning, 3 days old and still tasted great. I think those juicy pears kept it from drying out. I can’t wait to taste your next creation. 🙂
Yes, it was still tasty! I hear coffee cakes can keep up to 4 days. So we were still in the “safe to eat” range. 🙂
This recipe is bookmarked. I love your crumbling topping and I am sure the ricotta makes it so moist and the pear brandy so rich. Take care, BAM
This was a wonderful coffee cake and you are absolutely right –ricotta makes it super moist and the pear brandy gave it that extra pear flavoring and richness. Happy new year BAM and have a wonderful 2013!
Happy New Year! Just catching up on your latest recipes. This cake looks awesome. I really do have to track down some pear brandy and try this. (I must admit I was a little confused by the lack of coffee in the coffee cake until I read the comments above 😉 )
Hi Claire and Happy New Year! Thanks for the lovely comment. I know…. lots of US coffee cake recipes have no coffee ingredient. I’m going to have to bake one with. Have a wonderful 2013 and happy blogging! 🙂
Looking forward to trying the coffee-enriched coffee cake! 🙂
You always get first dibs on them! 😉
Oh my…
I will try this asap and let you know how it goes. It sounds amazing- I will skip the brandy though 😀
I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have. 🙂
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