I was sitting on my den floor. Small recipe books were scattered all around. My mission was to find a recipe I thought was in one of those books. It was one I recalled seeing decades ago. It was back when I worked for a food broker and we would often get recipe books by the manufacturers we represented. I miss that and getting all the fun promotional items too. Anyway, as I looked through my collection I discovered two recipes to try. One was Liptauer Cheese Spread and the other is Pear Almond Cake.
The photo of the cake is what caught my attention. Then I remembered all the pears I needed to use. My fridge contained a collection of food that was nearing the end of shelf life. The more I looked at the recipe the more I was hooked on giving it a go. What resulted is a moist, single layer cake sweetened with brown sugar and full of pears and almonds. Brown sugar gives it a more subtle sweetness and a certain richness. Cinnamon and nutmeg compliment the pears. It has a simple garnish of confectioners sugar with a pretty design from using a doily.
The cakes can be frozen for later use. Wrap them up in freezer paper, foil, or a few layers of plastic wrap. It’s something to have on hand that you can take out when you need a dessert and too busy to bake one. Once thawed at room temperature, all you have to do is garnish, slice, serve, and enjoy.
Have you been enjoying pear season? I sure have. Be sure to check out my spiced pear sauce and spiced pear pecan bread. Next up? Well, you’ll have to wait and see. Stay tuned…
Pear Almond Cake
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh pears
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- Confectioners sugar
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Note: you can also line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper for easier release.
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Whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
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Cream butter and brown sugar in a large bowl using a hand mixer on high speed.
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Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
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Add vanilla and beat to combine.
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Add flour and beat on low speed until just combined. Do not over-mix.
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Stir in pears and almonds.
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Divide and spread batter evenly into prepared cake pans.
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Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes.
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Turn out cakes onto wire racks and cool completely.
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Dust tops of cakes with confectioners sugar. For a lace design, place a paper doily on each cake before dusting. Carefully remove doily after dusting.
Recipe Notes
Cakes can be wrapped in freezer wrap or foil and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.
Recipe adapted from one in the Best Recipes Rich & Gooey Dessert Sensations cookbook (Volume 1, October 1994, Number 44 edition).
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Dorothy at ShockinglyDelicious says
You are speaking my language! Pear + almond = long happy marriage!
Renee says
I totally agree Dorothy – pears and almonds are meant to be together.
Anita at Hungry Couple says
I just pinned this to my ‘to be made’ board because this will be made!!
Renee says
Thanks Anita and I really appreciate the pin.
Norma / Allspice and Nutmeg says
This cake looks delicious. I love pear and almond together!
Renee says
Thanks Norma
The Ninja Baker says
Sooo elegant, Renee! Appreciate your use of fresh pears…I’m contemplating using this recipe for nashi – Asian pears. (They are slightly juicier but it might work!)
Must have been great fun working for a food broker. Especially the perks of free recipe books =)
Renee says
It really was fun working for a food broker. Getting to see new products before they hit the market was a blast.
Betsy @ Desserts Required says
I am so glad you continued your search! Thanks for a great recipe.
Renee says
And now more searches begin. The never ending fun of cooking and baking (and having a food blog).
Alex says
Mmmm this looks so delicate and pretty! I have some plums I need to use up soon, I might try this with the plums instead and see how it goes!
Renee says
Good luck with substituting plums. Let me know how it turns out.
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
I love pears! This cake looks deliciously moist.
Renee says
It is very moist and such a treat with coffee or tea.
Liz says
Pear and apple desserts keep me happy all through the fall! Your cake looks terrific, Renee!
Renee says
Thanks Liz and I also enjoy apple and pear desserts all year long. So nice we can get them throughout the year for baking.
Laura Dembowski says
So cool that you got tons of cookbooks with your job! This cake looks great! Pears are so nice to bake with and cakes that can be frozen are the best!
Renee says
It was fun to get those cookbooks. Now I’m glad the same thing happens with blogging.
Dina says
it looks lovely!
Renee says
Thank you Dina
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
Hmm…how do I go about getting a job as a food broker? That sounds more enjoyable than what I’m currently doing! As for this cake – Renee, it’s so pretty and I can imagine how moist and flavourful it is! Great idea using a doily for the icing sugar design. I need to get started on baking with pears!
Renee says
There are not many food brokers these days and the industry has changed so much I would not even begin to know how to get back into it again. I love the doily trick too. I bought a big pack so I can do the same with other cakes and desserts.
Kim Bee says
Gorgeous cake Renee. I love almond cake, with the pear in it I bet it’s just perfection.
Renee says
Thanks Kim