Pear Cake
A community recipe by MariavilNot tested or verified by Nigella.com
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In an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at the time, and stir well. Sift the flour and baking powder together, mix some of it onto the batter, then add some of the milk, then some of the batter....etc. until all is blended. But mix as little as possible. Smear half of the batter in a buttered spring form ("medium" sized, 23 cm or so). Peel and take out the core of the pears, cut in pieces, and spread out on the bottom. Cover with the rest of the batter, and add a new layer of pear pieces if you like. Just push them a little down into the batter. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake in oven, 180 C (350 F) for 30-45 minutes, depending on the amount of pears used. (Many pears - more moist - more time.) But check after 30 minutes to be sure. Ready when a cake tester comes out clean. This can also be made as a loaf cake, just adjust the cooking time and temperature.
In an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at the time, and stir well. Sift the flour and baking powder together, mix some of it onto the batter, then add some of the milk, then some of the batter....etc. until all is blended. But mix as little as possible. Smear half of the batter in a buttered spring form ("medium" sized, 23 cm or so). Peel and take out the core of the pears, cut in pieces, and spread out on the bottom. Cover with the rest of the batter, and add a new layer of pear pieces if you like. Just push them a little down into the batter. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake in oven, 180 C (350 F) for 30-45 minutes, depending on the amount of pears used. (Many pears - more moist - more time.) But check after 30 minutes to be sure. Ready when a cake tester comes out clean. This can also be made as a loaf cake, just adjust the cooking time and temperature.
Introduction
This is a family recipe - I make it every fall when friends and family with gardens (and pear trees) bring me pears. It's really yummy with ice cream, vanilla or caramel preferably.
This is a family recipe - I make it every fall when friends and family with gardens (and pear trees) bring me pears. It's really yummy with ice cream, vanilla or caramel preferably.
Ingredients
Serves: 6
Metric
Cups
- 250 grams unsalted butter
- 300 millilitres sugar
- 4 eggs
- 300 grams flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 tablespoons milk (or cream)
- 6 pears (between 2 and 6, depending on size and personal taste - I like this cake with quite a lot of pears)
- demerara sugar (for sprinkling on top)
- 8⅚ ounces unsalted butter
- 11 fluid ounces sugar
- 4 eggs
- 10⅗ ounces flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 tablespoons milk (or cream)
- 6 pears (between 2 and 6, depending on size and personal taste - I like this cake with quite a lot of pears)
- turbinado sugar (for sprinkling on top)
Method
Pear Cake is a community recipe submitted by Mariavil and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.
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What 17 Others have said
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Show more comments@Mam21 - I do 300g of caster sugar. I made the cake to use up pears and it's become a favourite amongst friends and family. So light.
I Was about to make this cake but realised the sugar is given as a fluid volume, what is the conversion into weights please?
This cake is massive. It's overflowing all over the oven so wasting a lot of mixture and a lot of cleaning to do. It will also feed way more than 6. I've used 5 pears.
Very easy to make and delicious. I won’t have any problem using up surplus pears now.
My new favourite cake!! I added almond extract & split the mixture between two 9" tins, which reduced cooking time. I used 4 pears, two on top of each. I then made almond butter icing to go inbetween the two cakes. Absolutely delicious.
Fantastic recipe. Exactly what I was looking for to use 5 lovely pears from a colleague's garden. Followed recipe and mindful of the comments on cooking time, used a 28cm tin vs 23 cm. Worked well! Next time will do it 5-10 mins longer, but nearly perfect in 45 mins. To taste and to use ingredients at home, I used golden caster sugar (plus Demerara for the top), added a teaspoon of vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of fresh grated nutmeg. Also coated the pears in a splash of the last of a jar of stem ginger syrup and one last piece of the ginger, finely grated. Used single elmlea instead of milk, again just because it was in the fridge. Will definitely be making again!
The batter makes a lovely, light and tender cake with the top crunchy from the demerara sugar. However it needed one and a half hours to bake. Next time I would put the pears on the top, and let them sink into the cake as it cooks, since putting them in the centre of the cake results in them sinking to bottom and making the centre of the cake sloppy. I tested at 1 hour, removed the cake but found the bottom centre uncooked. So it went back in upside down for a further 30 minutes to rectify this. I substituted cream/milk with Greek yoghurt.
Made this cake today as I had some pears that were too ripe for my fussy children and it was delicious! Thank you.
This is a superb recipe and makes an extremely rich cake. I made 12 loaf cakes using this recipe in September when the pears were all falling off the trees ripe. I froze them all and when defrosted, they are no different to freshly baked. I'm very pleased with this recipe and have adapted it for various other fruits like apples, blueberries and blackberries too!
What amazing rustic cake and tasted just perfect. I halved the recipe and added 2 pears only one pear layer in middle and one pear on top....bakes perfect.
This is delicious and very moist meaning it kept really well for the next day. If you are worried about the comments above just keep it in a little longer. I did mine in a loaf tin so lowered the temp to around 150 degrees and kept it in for 45-50minutes. A great way to use up garden pears.
I have now made this cake more times than I care to mention and it is simply terrific. I mix it up a little by either using simply milk or simply cream or half and half and this does make a difference to the end result - not better, not worse, just slightly different. Huge thanks to the individual for submitting this recipe - it is terrific!