Almond Pear Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup (70 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/3 cup (50 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups (132 g) ground almonds, blanched
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 ripe Bosc pears, peeled and cored
• 1/4 cup (24 g) almond slices, blanched
• Powdered sugar, for dusting the cake

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9" springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Set pan aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and sugar together until well incorporated. Add eggs one at a time and beat for approx. 4-5 minutes until batter is pale in colour and starts to thicken. Meanwhile scrape the bottom of the bowl as needed. Add almond extract.
3. In a separate bowl, add flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt together. Mix to combine.
4. Slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, mixing until combined.
5. Transfer your batter into your prepared pan, spread out evenly.
6. Peel pears, remove stem, slice in half (from top to bottom) and core seeds (a melon baller works great for this step).
7. Next, place pears cut size down in a circle with the top of the pear facing in the middle. See images for reference.
8. Then top with almond slices.
9. Bake in the oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until browned and the middle is set (place a toothpick in the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is done).
10. Let the cake cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the edges of the cake to gently release the cake. Then open the pan to completely release the cake. Do the same on the bottom with the knife in case any cake baked between the parchment paper and the base. Slide the cake (with the parchment paper on it) to a serving dish or cake stand.
11. Finally, dust with powdered sugar. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or creme fraiche .

NOTES

• Cake will last 3-4 days stored covered in the fridge. You may need to re-dust the top with powdered sugar.
• It is best to use slightly ripe pears. If your pears are too hard they will be difficult to slice.
• Make sure to buy ground almonds that are blanched.

Thanks to Baking For Friends