Biscoff cake with pear and white chocolate mascarpone frosting is a decadent, creamy, and rather sophisticated layer cake. Try it once and expect this pear cake recipe to become one of your favourite Biscoff recipes.
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This Biscoff cake with pear and white chocolate came about because I told my husband that I was planning on making a chocolate cake for my Father-in-law’s birthday. He groaned. Very loudly.
To be fair, there has been alot of chocolate cake floating around my kitchen recently.
All I can say is thanks for the groans. I went away, feeling more than chippy but in the end came up with the notion of this glorious and rather dramatic looking Biscoff cake instead.
This cake, in a nutshell comprises:
- Biscoff spread and semi-dried pears in the cake batter
- A lick of Biscoff spread inside each layer
- Plus a generous covering of white chocolate mascarpone frosting inside each layer and on the top
- Naked style outer frosting
- Crushed Biscoff biscuits and dried pear wafers
It’s quite a nutshell really.
The crowning glory is the circle of pears which bring to mind flames. Naturally, I’m hoping this cake is hot enough to spark your interest and entice you to bake it.
What is Biscoff?
I’m sure most people know what Biscoff biscuits and spreads are. But a few people, such as my husband until 2 months ago, may not. So for the few people yet to be enlightened, let me thrill you:
- Biscoff is a biscuit with a crunchy bite and distinctive & deep caramelised flavour
- The spread is made from these cookies and can be enjoyed on toast, in bakes or straight from the jar (who me?) – available in smooth and crunchy
By the way, my husband is now addicted to this stuff.
How to Make Biscoff Cake
There are 4 stages to complete when making this cake:
- slice and oven-dry the pears
- make the cake
- make the frosting
- assemble the cake
Each section is very easy and manageable. Since the pears take a while to dry in the oven (1-3 hours) I suggest starting with this section well ahead of time.
Tips for Making Pear Wafers
This wonderful pear cake recipe incorporates a double whammy of home-dried pears. First of all chunks of semi-dried pears are folded into the cake batter. Then, fully dried pear slices are used to adorn the finished cake in a dramatic and eye-catching fashion.
This type of decoration is cheap and very easy to achieve:
- Begin by cutting each pear in half and, using a mandolin, slice 4 wafer-thin slices from each pear (2 from each half)
- Next, peel and core the remaining pieces of pear. Cut into thin chunks.
- Lay the chunks and the full slices in a single layer on a large baking tin covered with parchment and cook at 120C/ 250F/ GM 1/2 for 1 hour
- Remove the chunks and set aside to cool.
- Turn the remaining pear slices over then cook for a further hour at 100C/ 210F/ GM 1/4 then turn once more and cook for 1 more hour, by which time they should be golden and crisp
- Set aside to cool down
Warning: homemade pear wafers do not have a long shelf-life. For this reason, make them on the day you intend to serve the cake and do not refrigerate them. Add to the finished cake just before taking to the table, otherwise they will wilt and flop.
The pear chunks go directly into the cake batter, so do not suffer in the same way. I do, however, suggest eating the cake within 2 days to avoid the semi-dried pears leaking moisture into the cake.
Tips for Making the Biscoff and Pear Cake
At the heart of this pear cake recipe is a basic sponge cake made using the creaming method. But I’ve added 3 ingredients to the standard recipe:
- Biscoff spread (crunchy or smooth is fine)
- Buttermilk
- Semi-dried pears
I felt that adding buttermilk, renown for producing a succulent crumb in cakes, was a worthy addition here to counterbalance the addition of the biscuit spread which could easily have made the cake dense. It worked a treat.
Before starting to make cake batter I always like to preheat my oven and prepare my baking tins. This way I can get my cake in the oven as soon as it is mixed and those raising agents are activated.
I always grease my tins and use a circle of baking parchment to line the base. These 2 measures help ensure my cake never gets stuck in the pan.
Please note the recipe presented is for a 3 layer cake made in 6-inch circular tins. Advice on scaling up this recipe is in the footnotes of my recipe card.
- Begin by creaming the butter, sugar and Biscoff spread together until light and fluffy
- Next beat in the eggs, bit by bit (to reduce the risk of the batter splitting), followed by the buttermilk
- Add the flour and baking soda, mixing well
- Finally, fold in the semi-dried pear chunks
- Divide equally between the 3 tins (approx 2/3 full) and bake until a skewer poked into the centre of the cake comes out clean
I always let my cakes rest in their baking tins for 2 minutes once I’ve taken them out of the oven. They will shrink slightly, pulling away from the edge of the tin. This helps get them out of the tins more easily.
Tips for Mascarpone Frosting
Notice I have not called this white chocolate mascarpone frosting a buttercream since it contains no butter. Nor is it an icing – it contains not a scrap of icing sugar.
Instead, this dreamy creamy frosting is made from 3 simple ingredients:
- Mascarpone cream cheese
- White chocolate
- Cream
It is important to use only Mascarpone cheese for this recipe. It has a sublimely creamy and mild taste that works wonders with the white chocolate. Regular cream cheese has a much stronger flavour and a less creamy finish.
The fat content of the cream should be around 35%. Here in the UK, double cream fits the bill. In the US the equivalent is commonly known as heavy cream.
Just three steps are required to make the mascarpone frosting:
- Melt the chocolate
- Whip the mascarpone and then whisk in the melted chocolate
- Pour in the cream and whip until it thickens to the soft peak stage
My top tip for making this white chocolate mascarpone frosting is to take care not to overbeat the mixture once the cream is added. Doing so will result in a split frosting that does not look attractive.
Once whipped, put the cream in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up – longer if making on a hot day. Remove before it firms up too much and use to spread and pipe onto the cake.
Assembling the Cake
This final stage is undoubtedly the most rewarding phase – seeing your carefully baked sponge layers transform into a spectacular pear cake laden with Biscoff and white chocolate flavours:
- Lay a single layer of sponge onto a flat surface
- Spread some white chocolate mascarpone frosting over the top
- Take another sponge layer and spread with Biscoff then flip it over to top the bottom cake layer
- Add more frosting to the exposed top of this second layer and spread more Biscoff onto one side of the remaining sponge cake, then flip this onto the top of the cake layers
- You should now have all 3 cakes stacked on top of each other
- Spoon some frosting over the top of the cake and smooth out
- Load the remaining frosting into a piping bag fitted with a wide plain round nozzle (I used a Wilton 1A) and pipe frosting into the gap between the layers and a little around the edges
- Use a bench scraper to run around the sides of the cake to smooth out the frosting and remove any excess until the naked style is achieved
- Use the remaining frosting to pipe 12 mounds around the top of the cake in a circle
- When ready to serve, push a pear wafer into each mound of frosting, crush 2 Biscoff biscuits to fine crumbs and use to fill in the centre of the cake, scattering a little over each mound of frosting too
Can I Make this Cake Ahead of Time?
If you need to make this pear cake recipe ahead of time, it is fine to do so a day in advance and store it in the fridge.
However, if making in advance, go as far as frosting the cake only. Do not add the pears or biscuit crumbs at this stage as they will both soften in the fridge.
Remove from the fridge 2 hours ahead of eating (unless it’s a hot day) to bring to room temperature.
Top with the pears and biscuit crumbs just prior to serving.
Leftovers will need to be stored in the fridge and those dried pears will droop – please keep this in mind (serve big portions?). They are still edible and still very tasty. They just don’t look so impressive.
I recommend eating this pear cake recipe within 48 hours to avoid leakage from the pears turning the cake soggy.
Can I Make Biscoff Cupcakes Instead?
This recipe can easily be adjusted to make Biscoff cupcakes instead of the layer cake.
The recipe as stated will make around 15 cupcakes, depending on the size of your tin holes, so you will need to make 15 pear wafers if you intend to use them as decoration.
Once baked and cooled:
- Scoop a small hole in the centre of each cupcake and fill with around 1 teaspoon of Biscoff spread
- Pipe a generous pile of the mascarpone frosting onto the top of each cake
- Crush 1 Biscoff biscuit and divide between the cakes, sprinkling it over the frosting
- Slip a pear wafer into the top of each cake
As an alternative to the pear wafers, half a Biscoff cookie could be used as a garnish instead.
Find More Biscoff Recipes:
This spread is really a very popular baking ingredient and there is no shortage of Biscoff recipes around to dive into. Here are a few of my favourite ideas:
- Biscoff chocolate chip cookies
- No-bake chocolate Biscoff bars
- Biscoff swirl brownies
- Biscoff cheesecake
Try my Other Fancy Cakes:
- Chocolate & vanilla malted milkshake cake
- Cinnamon apple cake with maple buttercream
- Triple-layer coffee cake
- Ombre matcha cake
Tell me about your favourite Biscoff recipes? Or if you bake this pear cake let me know how you got along by leaving a comment or rating.
Biscoff Cake with Pear and White Chocolate
Ingredients
For the Dried Pears
- 3 Pears medium, firm, not too ripe
For the Cake
- 180 g/ 6 1/2 oz Butter softened
- 180 g/ 6 1/2 oz Golden caster Sugar
- 75 g/ 2 1/2 oz Biscoff spread crunchy (recommended) or smooth
- 3 Eggs large, free range
- 3 tbsp Buttermilk
- 180 g/ 6 1/2 oz Plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
For the White Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting
- 250 g/ 9 oz Mascarpone cheese
- 150 g/ 5 1/4 oz White chocolate
- 125 ml/ 1.2 cup Double (heavy) cream around 35% fat
Extras
- 2 Biscoff biscuits
- 3 tbsp Biscoff spread
Instructions
Make the Dried Pears
- Begin by cutting each pear in half and, using a mandolin, slice 2 wafer-thin slices from widest part of each pear half. You should end up with 12 slices in total
- Next, peel and core the remaining pieces of pear. Cut into thin chunks
- Lay the chunks and the full slices in a single layer on a large baking tin covered with parchment and cook at 120C/ 250F/ GM 1/2 for 1 hour
- Remove the chunks and set aside to cool
- Turn the remaining pear slices over then cook for a further hour at 100C/ 210F/ GM 1/4 then turn once more and cook for 1 more hour, by which time they should be golden and crisp
- Let cool completely. Once cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature – do not refrigerate
Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven 180°/ 350°F/ GM4 and grease & line 3 x 6 inch circular baking tins (note these are smaller than average tins)
- In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar and Biscoff spread together until light and fluffy
- Next beat in the eggs, bit by bit (to reduce the risk of the batter splitting), followed by the buttermilk
- Sift the flour and baking soda into the bowl and whisk briefly to combine
- Finally, fold in the semi-dried pear chunks. Ensure the batter is throughly mixed and no streaks remain, but take care not to overmix as this will result in a tough cake
- Divide the batter equally between the 3 tins (approx 2/3 full) and bake for around 20 minutes until a skewer poked into the centre of the cake comes out clean
- Remove from the oven and let rest in the tins for 2 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack and removing the baking parchment
Make the Mascarpone Frosting
- Melt the white chocolate over a bain-marie or in the micowave in 30 second bursts
- Beat the mascarpone with electric beaters until smooth then beat in the metled chocolate
- Pour in the cream and beat for 30-45 seconds until the mixture reaches the soft peak stage (take care not to overbeat as this will cause the frosting to split and look grainy)
- Rest in the fridge for 20-30 minutes – longer on a hot day
Assemible to Cake
- Lay a single layer of sponge onto a flat surface and spread a heaped tablespoon of white chocolate mascarpone frosting over the top
- Take another sponge layer and spread with 1 1/2 tablespoons Biscoff then flip it over to top the bottom cake layer so the Biscoff side sites on top of the frosting
- Add more frosting to the exposed top of this second layer and spread another 1 1/2 tablespoons Biscoff onto one side of the remaining sponge cake, then flip this onto the top of the cake layers
- You should now have all 3 cakes stacked on top of each other
- Spoon a heaped tablespoon of frosting over the top of the cake and smooth out
- Load the remaining frosting into a piping bag fitted with a wide plain round nozzle and pipe frosting into the gap between the layers and a pipe a few blobs around the edges of the cake
- Use a bench scraper to run around the sides of the cake to smooth out the frosting and remove any excess until the naked style is achieved
- Use the remaining frosting to pipe 12 mounds around the top of the cake in a circle
- When ready to serve, push a pear wafer into each mound of frosting, crush 2 Biscoff biscuits to fine crumbs and use to fill in the centre of the cake, scattering a little over each mound of frosting too
- See notes below on refrigeration and storing of this cake
Kat (The Baking Explorer)
This is absolutely gorgeous and the flavours sound stunning!
Jane Saunders
Thanks Kat