Mini spiced cake with root beer poached pear, cream cheese icing and chopped orange zest

Ok boys and girls, this is the long awaited project I have been meaning to post about for a while. This is a semi-homemade spiced cake with root beer poached pear, cream cheese icing and chopped orange zest. 

I made the spiced mini cakes in a brownie pan the hubs got me for Christmas. They are about the same size as a cupcake, but square, of course. I got red pears, peeled them, cut them in half and poached them for about 15 minutes. (VERY low heat!) I sliced them as thin as I can. I used A&W root beer but I would rather have found an artisanal kind. Unfortunately I cannot get any unless I go into Columbus. For the cream cheese icing, I used a number 22 star tip ( though you can't quite see the detail from this photo). And for the orange zest, I just used a small pairing knife to cut small pieces of zest. It would be better to use a zester, especially for less experienced bakers. I drizzled a little of the poaching root beer just lightly over the cake to add a little moisture. 

As for the taste, it was delicious. I only like the Duncan Hines spiced cake, all others I have tried taste more artificial than anything else. It held moisture well and wasn't too delicate to wilt under the pears. I do suggest waiting for the cake and pears to cool down before assembling and piping on the icing. The icing just slid off in my impatience to try my little experiment. Another idea would be to add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, for a little flare.