Recipe of the Week: Pear and Almond Cake
The crisp crunch of a ripe fresh pear cannot be beaten.
For this delicious classic cake you can use fresh or tinned pears, and if you cannot find lovely ripe summer pears then sometimes the tinned ones work better.
But the crisp crunch of a ripe fresh pear cannot be beaten.
It is a classic combination and is really easy to make because it has no pastry and therefore is a one-step sponge cake style recipe.
Make sure to prepare the tin well so that it does not stick and turns out perfectly.
- 250g pears
- 180g ground almonds
- 120g plain flour
- 20g extra flour
- 180g soft butter
- 150g caster sugar
- 30g honey
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 3 eggs
- ½ sachet instant yeast
Peel and core the pears, then cut into large dice. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and the sugar, then add the honey, juice and zest and mix again, before adding the eggs one at a time until all incorporated.
Mix the flour and yeast together and then add it to the mix.
Using a spatula, fold in the ground almonds and make sure that there are no lumps in the mix.
Lightly butter a loaf tin, then dust it with a little of the extra flour.
Toss the pears in any remaining extra flour, and lightly fold them into the batter before tipping the batter into the prepared loaf tin.
Place in a preheated oven for 45 minutes at 180oC.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from the tin and then cool completely on a wire rack.
