French Pear Cake
This French-style pear cake is a wonderful combination of tender-crumb cake and juicy chunks of pear. It's easy to make and perfect just as it is for a snack or dressed up for dessert. Much as I enjoy raw pears, I also find pears are really nice to cook with. The two most classic methods are poaching or nestled in a batter, whether cake or otherwise. Both methods really bring out the pear's natural sweetness and flavor, like in my pear clafoutis. We I've also tried pre-roasting pears for my roasted pear and fig scones which was really tasty too. French cuisine seems to share my appreciation of pears since they appear in a few classic dishes. Many French recipes combine poaching and baking, having you poach the pears in a syrup first.
I can understand that this helps enhance their sweetness and makes for a softer texture, but if you dice the pears as here, it doesn't really feel necessary. As a result, this cake is a lot less fuss to prepare, but the result is still most definitely delicious. This cake was an instant favorite in our house. I don't bake larger cakes too often as we sometimes struggle to get through them unless we know we have visitors to help. Some friends helped us with this and it was quickly and happily enjoyed by all.
Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour 175g plain flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 pears (ripe but not overripe)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sugar 100g
- ½ cup unsalted butter 115g, melted
- ¼ cup creme fraiche 60ml
- 2 tbsp sugar to top