These Pear Cupcakes With Honey Buttercream are made with diced fresh pears and a hint of cinnamon. The subtle flavors of these moist cupcakes blend beautifully.
Buckle up, cupcakes, there is major cuteness ahoy.
What, like you’ve never made a recipe just so you could top it with an adorable miniature candy fruit?
Actually, these pear cupcakes served a dual purpose: I got to indulge my love of whimsy and painfully literal cupcake decorating, and also got to address what is known in our house as The Pear Situation:
Remember when I wrote about how I’m a sucker for a good deal? Well, recently I got a chance to buy a giant box of delicious pears for $30. The box was massive, so I split it with a friend…and still ended up with over 50 pears in my half box. They were rock-hard at first, but within a few days they all ripened at once, which means after I’d gorged myself eating them plain, I was left scrambling for things to do with them.
I asked my Facebook peeps for ideas, and got tons of great suggestions for pear recipes. I’ll be sharing some of my pear creations over the next month—spaced out so that you don’t suffer from pear fatigue like I am. (#firstworldproblems much?) First up: Pear Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream!
These cupcakes are made with diced fresh pears and a hint of cinnamon. The flavor is subtle (which is true of most pear baked goods) but you can still taste the pears, and the moist texture is amazing. I topped them with a sweet, delicately flavored honey buttercream—it doesn’t overwhelm the light pear flavor, but instead complements it perfectly. I added a splash of orange blossom water to the buttercream, because I am an old person and want all of my sweets to taste like flowers. I loved the floral and citrus notes it added, but you can skip it or substitute another extract like almond, orange, or lemon. (Love citrusy cupcakes? Try these Zucchini Cupcakes.)
Each cupcake was topped with one of these Swiss Petite Pear candies from Oh Nuts. I used them as part of the candy buffet at our Very Hungry Caterpillar party back in April, and afterward, when I saw I had a few dozen left, I decided to save them for some cupcake decorations. As with most cupcake toppers, they’re absolutely not necessary but also absolutely adorable.
Happy weekend, everyone! I hope your days are filled with cupcakes and sweetness and, maybe, wee fruit-shaped candies.
💚More Desserts You’ll Love
Caramel Panna Cotta with Poached Pears
Pear Pistachio Tart with Rosemary Crust
Pear Cupcakes With Honey Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Pear Cupcakes:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, (1 stick), softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups pears, finely diced, from 2 large ripe pears
For the Honey Buttercream:
- 12.25 oz granulated sugar, (1 3/4 cups)
- 9 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 lb unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 fl oz honey, (½ cup)
- 1 tsp orange blossom water, optional
Instructions
To Make the Pear Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with 24 paper liners; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low, and mix in the finely diced pears. Don’t worry if the batter looks broken at this point. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the flour is almost entirely combined. Stop the mixer and finish by hand, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl well.
- Divide the batter among the lined cups. Fill them only about 2/3 full–this recipe produces cupcakes with a flat top, so if they’re overfilled, they will spread out instead of crowning, and be less attractive. Bake until the tops are golden brown and spring back when lightly touched, about 20-22 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely at room temperature before frosting them.
To Make the Honey Buttercream:
- Combine the egg whites and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer, and whisk them together. Choose a small saucepan that lets you fit the base of the stand mixer snugly into the top of the saucepan—this is your makeshift hot water bath. (Alternately, you can use a different bowl or an actual bain marie and then transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl once it’s heated.) Add an inch of water to the bottom of the saucepan, and bring the water to a simmer.
- Place the mixing bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure that the bottom isn’t in contact with the water, and heat the egg white mixture. Whisk frequently so that the egg whites don’t cook. Continue to heat the whites until they are hot to the touch, and when you rub a bit between your fingers, you don’t feel any grittiness from the sugar. Once the whites are hot, transfer the mixing bowl to your mixer and fit it with a whisk attachment.
- Beat the whites on high speed until they are no longer warm to the touch—feel the outside of the bowl, and make sure that it is around room temperature. Depending on your mixer and the temperature of your environment, this may take 10-20 minutes, or more. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the softened but cool butter in small chunks, a tablespoon at a time, making sure to wait in between additions. It may separate or look a little gloopy at this point—fear not. Once all of the butter is added, increase the speed again and whip until it comes together and is light and fluffy. If, after 5 minutes, it hasn’t come together, refrigerate the mixing bowl for 5-7 minutes, to cool the mixture down, and whip it again.
- Add the salt, honey, vanilla extract, and orange blossom water, if you’re using it, and mix until well-blended. The buttercream can be made in advance and kept at room temperature if you’re going to use it the same day, or refrigerated. If it’s been chilled, let it sit at room temperature until it softens, then re-whip it to get the fluffy texture back before you use it.
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
These are ever so cute, I love that mini pear on top! And that buttercream looks fantastic too 😉
Enjoy your weekend, Elizabeth! x
Thanks Conseulo, hope your weekend is amazing!
I love the idea of pear cupcakes with honey flavoured frosting.. just seems to match perfectly!! The little pear sweets are the perfect finish touch!!
Have a great weekend!
Johlene
Flavours & Frosting
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Thanks Johlene–it was a combination I hadn’t tried before, but I loved it–definitely one I’ll revisit again!
OMG, these look wonderful! I love love your website, so many delicious sweet cakes! I am not good at baking, so I am really envious of your baking skills!
Thank you Cindy, that is so sweet! I have to say the baking is a result of years of practice and even more years of eating desserts. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I love those little bitty pear candies. I think I might be able to doctor them into pear buns. . . . I’m still obsessed. These cupcakes look lovely. Perfectly sweet but not too sweet. Can’t wait to see the fruits of “the pear situation”!!
Thanks Sara! They actually have lots of cute teensy fruit–I basically want to stick all of them on different cupcakes. 🙂 Love the idea of pear buns too! I would be all over that if you give it a go.
I’ve never seen pear cupcakes! Or those adorable little candies:) What a cupcake, Liz, especially with that honey buttercream. A new combo – must try this! Thanks!
I know, I don’t know why pear cupcakes don’t get much love! Maybe because they’re more of a muffin flavor? Well, I love them, and totally recommend you give them a try!
Wow, you and I are exactly the same!!! I too am a sucker for a good deal, and am currently sitting on about 20 pounds of apples and pears! These look amazing! Where did you find the orange blossom water? I have been looking for it for awhile.
Haha, it’s so hard to turn down a good bargain–and then you end up having pears for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 🙂 I found the orange blossom water at my local grocery store, but it does have a large Middle Eastern food section, so that may not be the norm.
I so know what it feels like to end up with 50 IMMEDIATELY RIPE fruits! And I love a challenge, too! Especially when the result is caaaake.
I know! I ended up freezing the last of them and have been having pear smoothies for the last few weeks–it’s weird but it works. And caaaake is always a winner!
These are, without a doubt, one of the CUTEST cupcakes EVERRRRRR!!!!! that honey buttercream with orange blossom…. Gosh! I can taste what it will be like with the cupcakes! DE-LICCCCC-IOUS!!!! 🙂
Haha thanks Samina! It totally was delicious. (with 4 C’s, natch!)
Oh my!! These may just be about the cutest cupcakes I’ve ever seen. They look delicious!
Aw thanks Yvonne! Turns out putting teensy candies on cupcakes makes them 200% cuter without any extra work!
I made cupcakes yesterday and also made honey buttercream. Mine might have been with Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey though. 🙂
These sound great and I love the idea of seasonal fruit; makes them healthy cupcakes right?
Oh heeeey brain twin! Sounds like great minds think alike! And yes, adding pears basically makes these a health food–pear cupcakes for breakfast, anyone?