French Pear Cake

 

 

prep 20 min.

ready 1 hr. 15 min.

serves 4-6

 

The fall colors are peak here in the Midwest! I have gone on several bike rides through the beautiful fall colors. I have also enjoyed this time of year by hiking with my wife and our dog Fritz. If it is not raining and the sun is out, it doesn’t get any better. The sad thing is that it is going to end soon. If you can, get out and enjoy the fall colors. This is by far my favorite time of the year!

The pear tree behind our house still has a bounty of pears, and I hate to see them go to waste. I recently made a pear and plum galette which I posted on this cooking blog. I have been cooking with the pears for the last month. The pears have been so firm that I have had to put them in a brown grocery bag with a couple of ripe bananas to help them soften. There was a bumper crop this year.

This French cake was easy to make. It is a perfect fall dessert and tasted great!. Using a semi-firm pear was fine. They do not have to be soft and ripe for this recipe. They were easy to cut. Some people leave the peels on, but I peeled them.

This recipe is a variation off of davidlebovitz.com French apple cake recipe from his web blog. I used pears rather than apples. Any fruit will work. Thanks David for the great post.

 

 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 tsp. baking powder

• 1 pinch salt

• 2 eggs (I used brown eggs)

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 tsp. (4g) quality vanilla extract

• 8 Tbsp. butter, melted

• 3-4 pears, any variety

• 1- tsp. powdered sugar for the top of the cake (optional)

 

 

 

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a stand mixer bowl or medium-size bowl.

3. Beat eggs until foamy. (I used a copper mixing bowl.) Then whisk in the sugar and vanilla.

 

 

4. Melt the butter over medium heat and whisk half of it into the egg mixture.

5. Combine the dry ingredients with the egg mixture using a hand mixer or use a Kitchenaide stand mixer.

6. Add the remaining melted butter.

7. With a vegetable peeler or paring knife, remove the skins from the pears and cut them in half. (Some people leave the skins on. I removed them.)

8. Core the pears with a spoon and remove the stems with a paring knife. (I have found that  having a firmer pear helps.)

10 Slice the pear lengthwise into 1/4” thick slices.

11. Fold the pears into the batter and place the mixture into a 10” greased free form pan. (I sprayed it with cooking spray.)

12. Bake for 50-60 minutes on the middle rack until the cake turns a golden brown.

Remove the cake from the free form pan, and let it cool on a wire rack at least 10 minutes before serving.

I added a spoonful of sour cream. You can add whipped cream or ice cream if you desire.

 

I wish I would have arranged the pears in a more uniform design on the top, but I will do that next time for a better presentation.

 

 

 

 

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French pear cake

Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup flour all-purpose
  • 3/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 8 Tbsp. butter melted
  • 3-4 pears
  • 1 tsp. sugar powdered for the top of the cake (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350º F

  2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a stand mixer bowl or medium-size bowl.

  3. Beat eggs until foamy. (I used a copper mixing bowl.) Then whisk in the sugar and vanilla.

  4. Melt the butter over medium heat and whisk half of it into the egg mixture.

  5. Combine the dry ingredients with the egg mixture using a hand mixer or use a Kitchenaide stand mixer.

  6. Add the remaining melted butter.

  7. With a vegetable peeler or paring knife, remove the skins from the pears and cut them in half. (Some people leave the skins on. I removed them.)

  8. Core the pears with a spoon and remove the stems with a paring knife. (I have found that  having a firmer pear helps.)

  9. Slice the pear lengthwise into 1/4” thick slices.

  10. Fold the pears into the batter and place the mixture into a 10” greased free form pan. (I sprayed it with cooking spray.)

  11. Bake for 50-60 minutes on the middle rack until the cake turns a golden brown.

  12. Remove the cake from the free form pan, and let it cool on a wire rack at least 10 minutes before serving.

    I added a spoonful of sour cream. You can add whipped cream or ice cream if you desire.

Recipe Notes

I wish I would have arranged the pears in a more uniform design on the top, but I will do that next time for a better presentation.

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