An easy Pear Cake recipe filled with juicy pears.Â
Ingredients
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 175 grams (1 and 1/4 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 75 grams (3/4 cup) almond meal or ground almonds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat or whole milk
- 250 grams (1 and 1/2 cups or 2 medium-sized) pears, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon sugar topping
- 15 grams (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, melted
- 15 grams (1 tablespoon) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan with baking or parchment paper on the bottom and the sides of the pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy, approximately 1-2 minutes.
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat briefly to combine.Â
- Add flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt, along with the milk. Gently mix together on a low speed, just until cake batter is smooth and creamy.
- In a separate bowl, toss chopped pears in cinnamon. Add pears to cake batter and gently stir. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth the top using a spatula.Â
- In a separate small bowl, combine melted butter, sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle over the top of the cake batter. Use a butter knife to gently swirl mixture into the cake batter.Â
- Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave cake to cool for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Pears: I used Bosc pears but any variety of pear will work. You don’t have to use ripe pears – even underripe ones work well. Avoid canned pears if possible. Since they are so much softer, they will become almost mushy when baked and won’t hold their shape.
Almond meal: Almond meal is made from 100% ground raw almonds usually with the skin still on. It is not the same as almond flour, which is made from peeled, blanched almonds and has a finer texture than almond meal. I tested this recipe with almond meal and recommend using it for best results. But almond flour should also work.
Nut-free: You can omit the almond meal and use extra flour instead. Use an additional 35 grams (1/4 cup) of plain flour or all purpose flour in the cake (210 grams in total).
Storage instructions: Once your Pear Cake has cooled completely, cover it in plastic wrap and keep it in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make ahead instructions: You cannot make the cake batter ahead of time – it needs to be baked as soon as it is made. However, you can make the cake ahead of time and freeze it. Simply wrap in plastic wrap once completely cooled and place in an airtight container in the freezer.
To serve: You can serve Pear Cake warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or custard. Alternatively, serve at room temperature dusted with icing or powdered sugar and a dollop of cream.
