3 Pear Cakes | expandthetable

Perfect Desserts for Mother's Day Luncheons and Dinners!

3 Pear Cakes plus 1 Red Pear Tart

Bring all the hostages home.

Pear Almond Cake

I prefer to go shopping myself as I often fall in love with what I see in the produce section. This week it was the pears. So beautiful. I bought both red pear and Barlett pears and had enough to make 3 different desserts, so it was a wonderful day of baking! Pears are not always the first choice in fruit for baking and this is a mistake that needs to be corrected!! What warm, wonderful and complex flavor pears bring. Like apples, there are several varieties but pears are softer and sweeter. One of the 3 cake I made has almonds, pear perfect companions. Another is an elegant, moist cinnamon topped coffee cake. And a third is a light, warmly spiced cake with cinnamon and allspice, which enhances the flavor pear taste. The Red Peart Tart is so beautiful and lucisous--it's already on the website so just click to get the recipe!

Because the skin on pears is not usually tough you may choose to leave it on, which I did in all three recipes. You can top the cakes with melted apricot jam, sprinkle it with confectioner’s sugar, put a dollop of vanilla ice cream or leave it as it is naturally. All so delicious. I couldn’t decide which one I liked the best! All can be frozen for future use.

Pear Almond Cake

1 pear, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur

3/4 cup almond flour

6 tablespoons white sugar, divided

1/2 cup softened butter

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

¼ cup slice almonds

Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Spray 9” cake pan with oil or butter.
Mix pear slices and amaretto liqueur together in a bowl.
Mix almond flour and 2 tablespoons sugar together.
Cream 1/4 cup sugar and butter together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Mix almond flour, flour, and salt into butter mixture to make a smooth batter.
Drain pears into batter, saving pears.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing batter. Arrange pear slices and almond slices decoratively on top of batter.
Bake in the preheated oven until cake is starting to pull away from the edges, about 20 minutes. Allow cake to cool in pan.

Expandthetable suggestions

Lower the sugar: Use Stevia in place of sugar, following the conversion measurements given on the package.

Don’t use alcohol? Omit amaretto and substitute ¼ teaspoon almond extract, equal amounts of milk of choice or water.

Adapted from Allrecipes. eatcookdream.com

Pear Olive Oil Cake

Liquid Ingredients

1 cup olive oil

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs

Dry Ingredients

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon all spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pears

3 cups cored, peeled and cubed pears. About 2 large or 3 small pears

Preheat oven to 325 F (160C)
Grease or spray and then lightly dust with flour an 8 ½ “ spring-form cake tin a 6” spring form pan or 4 ½” mini pans. If using the smaller baking tin, you will have enough batter for several mini or 4 ½”. I love using the minis for portion control and fun in serving individual portions.
Combine olive oil, sugar and eggs in a bowl and whisk by hand or mixer until thick and pale.
Mix flours and spices into a large mixing cup or bowl. Add to wet ingredients. Mix well.
Fold in pear cubes.
Pour mixture into prepared cake pan(s), evenly distributing the pears.
Bake for
1. 8 ½” pan: 1 hour
2. 6” pan: 40 minutes
3. 4 ½” pan: 30minutes
4. or until a skewer inserted comes out a little moist but clean.
Let cake cool, remove from pan.

Expandthetable suggestions

Lower the sugar: Use Stevia in place of sugar, following the measurement conversion on the package

Note: Use a good quality olive oil as the flavor is so integral to the cake.

Adapted from Mandy Hatfieldcampbell on Cook’s Cook

Cinammon Topped Pear Coffee Cake

Dry Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour

2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Liquid Ingredients

1 large beaten egg

1/2 cup milk of choice

4 tablespoons melted butter

2 ripe pears like Bartlett, unpeeled, cored and chopped

Cinnamon Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons Confectioner's Sugar

Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Spray or butter an 8-inch (22cm)square baking pan.
In a large measuring cup, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
Mix the egg, milk and melted butter until well combined. Pour into dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in pears. Pour into prepared pan.
In a separate small bowl prepare the Cinnamon Topping. Mix sugar and butter. Spread over top of batter. Batter is thick.
Bake 30 minutes until golden and a toothpick is dry when inserted in the middle of hte cake. Cool in pan and then remove. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

Expandthetable suggestions

Dairy free/Pareve: Use dairy free margarine in place of butter. Use non-dairy milk, such as Almond Milk or another nut or seed milk.

Lower the sugar: Use Stevia in place of sugar, following the measurement conversion from the package.

Other fruit: Try apples, nectarines or peaches in place of pears.