Cake, Pear, Sweets, Vegetarian

Pear-filled cake with almonds – Torta cuore di pere e mandorle

This is one of my go-to cake when I want to make an easy dessert that also contains some fruit. The crunchy almonds are the perfect finish!

Prep time: 40 min (including 30 min resting time for the dough)
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 hour and 13 min

$3-5 total*

6-8 people

Ingredients

4 pears
250 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
180 g (3/4 cup) sugar + 2 tbsp for cooking the pears
110 g (1/2 cup) safflower oil (or sunflower oil)
1 egg
1/2 lemon, juiced
10 g (2 tablespoons) baking powder
10-12 almonds, roughly chopped

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position.

In a mixing bowl, add the egg and sugar, and mix them for about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to incorporate all the ingredients. The batter will look very grainy at this point.

Add the oil to the batter. Beat well for about 2 minutes.

Sift the flour and the baking powder. Knead by hand for a few minutes until you obtain a smooth ball of dough.

Wrap with a plastic wrap (or place it in an airtight container) and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the pears. Peel, core, and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes. Put them in a saucepan, pour the lemon juice and the 2 tbsp of sugar.

Cook the pears at low heat with the lid on for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before composing the cake.

Grease a 9-inch (22 cm) springform or regular cake pan with butter and sprinkle with flour.

Roll out half of the dough in the springform.

Distribute the mixture of pears, sugar, and lemon, making sure to have about 1 inch of space between the filling and the border of the pan. Cover with another layer of dough.

Sprinkle with chopped almonds.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cake on a rack and then remove it from the springform or cake pan by running a knife around the edges of the cake. Place on a platter and serve.