pear-maple cake

I was simply looking for a way to use up a few pears that came with us on a trip to the mountains last weekend but we never got around to eating them.  So they came back, a bit bruised on the outside but still perfectly edible.  Having earlier eaten some from the same bag, I knew they were exceptionally sweet and fragrant and so I was very reluctant to let these go to waste.  And just like the over-ripe bananas which are happily turned into banana bread, these were destined to go into a simple cake that would be perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

The recipe was something I made up as I went along and was unsure of it’s taste.  But it came out of the oven looking pretty enough to warrant a quick picture and after impatiently waiting for it to cool down, I cut a slice and was thrilled……it tasted delicious!  A dense cake, not too sweet, wonderfully fragrant and almost pudding-like because of all the pears.  It reminded me of something similar that I had eaten before that I couldn’t quite recall.  Only after the third slice did it come to me…….that it tasted similar to a pear-frangipane tart.  So I quickly took a few more pictures because I knew it had to make it to the blog.

The classic tart certainly has its own special place but this is good if you want to throw something together quickly.  Fewer steps involved but so good!  You could vary the spices used.  Swap the cinnamon for cardamom or a mixed spice.  Especially in this season, when one tends to have a soft corner for desserts with spicy undertones.  And the nice thing about this cake (as I discovered!) is that it is great at breakfast, teatime or a midnight snack 🙂

Print Recipe

Pear Maple Cake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/8 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• pinch of salt
• 5 medium ripe pears (I used Bartelett)*

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease an 8-inch baking pan or skillet.

2

Core the pears. Chop two of the pears very finely and then mash them until chunky. Keep the other three aside to top the cake.

3

Mix the all-purpose flour, almond flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl.

4

In another bowl, add the beaten eggs, olive oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, yogurt and mashed pears. Mix well.

5

Add this to the flour mixture and mix until just moistend. Do not overmix.

6

Pour the batter into the baking pan or skillet . Slice the remaining pears into thin slices and arrange randomely over the cake.

7

Bake at 350F for 40-45 mins. The top may not be completely golden brown because of the maple syrup instead of sugar. In that case, turn the oven to the broil setting and broil just for a minute or so until the top gets golden brown.

8

Cool to room temperature and serve.

Notes

* The mashed pears make a little less than one cup. I realized the mentioning quantity as a medium size can be pretty relative so this should make measuring a little easier :). Also, you can reduce the quantity to half a cup (1 pear).