Carmelized Pear and Almond Cake

This year I realized that the pear tree in my backyard actually produces some tasty fruit. In previous years the pears have been small and hard. This year I decided to let them hang on the tree a bit longer and it turns out though they are small, and though they are still a bit hard, they are really super sweet and clean tasting.

I kind of made up my own recipe by melding two I came across. I sauteed the sliced and peeled pears in Czech butter and brown sugar until they became soft and caramelized. Then I made a batter of equal weight eggs, cake flour, caster sugar and butter (188 g) and some salt, baking powder and almond and vanilla extract to taste. The batter was the most velvety smooth I have ever seen. I buttered and lined five 4" spring form pans. Placed the sauteed pear slices in the bottom with some of the caramel sauce and then added a layer of roasted almond slivers. Then I topped it off with some batter and baked for about 40 minutes. To serve I flipped them upside down and released them from the form. Upside down cake!



The cake has a really tender crumb with a slight hint of almond, the topping is ridiculously tasty and leaves a nice nutty butter note on the tongue. If I try this again I might reduce the amount of sugar in the cake and add some almond flour in place of cake flour. I think the cake could also benefit from some citrus to cut the richness.