Classic French Pear Cake
This Classic French Pear Cake features tender pear chunks nestled in a light and airy crumb, flavored with almond extract. Right before baking, the cake gets dusted with sugar to create a signature crackly top. It’s super-easy to make and is just sweet enough, with a delightful more-pear-than-crumb-ratio. If you love pears, this recipe will become a staple in your repertoire. A key step : Ribboning the eggs and sugar For the batter, you must start by ribboning together the eggs and sugar. This is a key step in making this…
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 45 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- ½ cup (125g) unsalted butter
- 2 large firm pears (or 3 small)
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar + 2 tbsp for sprinkling
- 1 tsp Almond extract
- 3 tbsp (45ml) 2% Milk
Instructions
- 1
Make sure you read the cooking notes before you start.
- 2
Preheat your oven to 350ºF (180ºC) with a rack in the middle. Line an 8-inch or 9-inch (20-22.8cm) springform pan with parchment paper at the bottom and grease the sides with butter.
- 3
Step 1 - Melt the butter in a saucepan and set aside to cool.
- 4
Step 2 - Peel and core the pears, then dice them into 1/2-inch (1.25cm) pieces.
- 5
Step 3 - In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- 6
Step 4 - In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and a ribbon forms from the whisk (5-10minutes). Whisk in the almond extract and milk. Whisk in half of the melted butter and gently stir. Add in half of the flour mixture, gently stir. Stir in the remaining butter, then the rest of the flour mixture.
- 7
Step 5 - Fold in the pears until they are evenly coated with the batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top a little bit, with a spatula. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over top of the batter.
- 8
Step 6 - Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes and remove it carefully from the pan. Enjoy warm or cool, on its own or served with crème fraiche