There is nothing more elegant in its simplicity than this perfectly stunning almond pear cake. Its beauty lies in the contrast of seasonal pears peaking out beneath a light textured cake full of nutty almonds.
You’d never guess just how easy it is to make something so spectacular and so delicious! As a result, this makes a lovely dessert to serve for a special occasion to wow your guests!
Ingredients
The best part of this cake; is the pairing of almonds that literally dances with flavour and matches beautifully with pears! In this recipe, the pear is the show stopper but the almonds are actually what makes the cake. The batter is blended with ground almonds, natural almond flavour and topped with shaved almonds. The pear would be nothing without the almonds!
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar & icing sugar
- Eggs
- Almond extract
- Ground almonds, blanched
- All-purpose flour
- Bosc pear
- Almond slices, blanched
- Baking powder
- Salt
Baking with Pears
As we transition into fall pears and apples are the stars of the season. I find the switch in fruits feels refreshing and I welcome the beginning of new fall flavours. There are many ways to enjoy pears and they are similar to apples in that some varieties are better for cooking and baking than others. Because of this Bosc, Anjou or Bartlett pears are perfect for cooking and baking.
Blanched Almonds vs Unblanched Almonds (Almond Meal)
Blanched almonds are more widely used in baking recipes as the skins have been removed before grinding the almonds. They have a finer texture and are lighter in colour. Unblanched almonds (known as almond meal) are ground with the skins on. As a result, it gives the flour a denser texture, more of an almond flavour and a darker colour. Because of the colour and texture of blanched almonds, this flour is more commonly used in cakes and cookies.
SHOP ALMOND FLOUR AT YOUR LOCAL BULK BARN STORE
How To Make an Almond Pear Cake
Step One: Line and grease a springform pan. Next, peel, half and core pears and set aside.
Step Two: Make your batter and spread the batter evenly into your prepared pan. Press 6 pear halves into the batter. Place the pears tops into the centre and fan the pears out, and top with sliced almonds.
Step Three: Bake the pear cake for 30-35 minutes. Let the cake cool on a cooling rack, remove the pan and dust with icing sugar. Enjoy!
Almond Pear Cake
This almond pear cake is a simple yet elegant dessert to wow your guests. It’s light in texture and full of nutty almond flavour! The pears are simply nestled within the cake batter and peak through as the cake bakes. It’s an absolute stunner of a cake!
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups ground almonds, blanched
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 ripe Bosc pears, peeled and cored
- 1/4 cup almond slices, blanched
- icing sugar, for dusting the cake
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 9″ springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Set pan aside.
- 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.
- In a separate bowl, add flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt together. Mix to combine.
- Slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, mixing until combined.
- Transfer your batter into your prepared pan, and spread out evenly.
- Peel pears, remove stem, slice in half (from top to bottom) and core seeds (a melon baller works great for this step).
- Next, place pears cut side down in a circle with the top of the pear facing in the middle. See the images above for reference.
- Then top with almond slices.
- 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).
- 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 is baked between the parchment paper and the base. Slide the cake (with the parchment paper on it) to a serving dish or cake stand.
- Finally, dust with icing 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.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice of 10
- Calories: 243
- Sugar: 17.6g
- Sodium: 117mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 4.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 27.3g
- Fiber: 3.7g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 53mg
Keywords: Almond Cake, Pear Cake, Cake, Tart, Dessert
FAQ’s
Technically yes! Almond ‘flour’ is ground up almonds and used in many dishes for baking. It can be a great substitute for grain free flour. But keep in mind the texture is very different from all-purpose flour and the amounts will differ in recipes. Most commonly the two types of almond flour are called almond meal and blanched ground almonds.
Baking with almonds is a great substitute for grain free flour, which makes it gluten free! It adds lots of flavour and moisture to baking. Again, depending on whether you are using almond flour or almond meal your results will be lighter or a little denser.
Bosc, Anjou or Bartlett pears are best for cooking and baking.
This blog post has been sponsored by Bulk Barn Canada. All opinions are my own and I’m so happy to work with brands I love so I can continue to share these recipes with all of you! I hope you guys get to a Bulk Barn soon and try out this recipe! Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed this cake.
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