Recipe is River Cottage Caramelized Pear Cake
• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 75g wholemeal self raising flour
• 75g ground almonds
• A good pinch of cinnamon
For the caramelised pears:
• 2 pears (reasonably firm, but not rock hard)
• 25g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1. Preheat oven to 170°C/gas 3.
Grease a 20cm-diameter springform cake tin and line the base with baking
parchment.
2. Peel, core and quarter the pears.
3. Melt the 25g butter in a frying
pan big enough to take all the pear pieces, over a medium high heat. When it’s
bubbling, add the sugar and stir gently until it has dissolved into the butter.
Add the pears and cook gently, turning once or twice, until they have softened
and are starting to colour – 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat the
softened butter with the caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in one egg at
a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with each to stop the mix curdling.
5. Combine the remaining flour, the
ground almonds and the cinnamon, and fold into the mixture. Scrape into the
prepared tin. Arrange the pears on top and pour on any buttery juices left in
the pan.
6. Bake for about 40-50 minutes or
until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
7. Stand the cake in its tin on a
wire rack to cool for a few minutes, then release the tin.
