Saturday, February 16, 2013

Double Pear and Almond Cake

I've made a rod for my own back.  As you can tell from the blog, I bake the odd few cakes and biscuits and I like to share them with my work colleagues.  The Hubs brings some into his work too, so I am usually very popular of a Monday morning. Beady eyes follow my every movement when I walk through the door and over to my desk, and some people come over on the pretense of saying hello, but actually trying to see if I have any food with me.  Last Friday, I was even asked what I was going to make at the weekend for Monday.  Ah, give a girl a chance...

I had a basket of pears in the fruit bowl which I had forgotten to bring to work for breakfast, so it was fitting that they would end up in the office anyway, as part of a cake.  Almonds are the perfect match for pears and I was thinking about a Frangipane all morning but I wasn't in the humour to make pastry.  A bottle of Pear Liqueur in the drinks cabinet caught my eye and a plan was hatched.  This was going to be a grown-up cake but it can easily be adapted to suit a family by replacing the liqueur with milk.




So, tell me, do almonds float your boat?  If not, what would you use instead?

Double Pear and Almond Cake

100g Ground Almonds 
140g Self-Raising Flour 
175g Butter, cubed, at room temperature
140g Caster Sugar 
2 Eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp Pear Liqueur 
2 Pears, peeled and sliced





Preheat your oven to 160c/Gas Mark 4.  Grease and line an 8-inch cake tin.  


Mix the ground almonds, flour and butter in a mixer until well combined.  Add the sugar, eggs and pear liqueur and mix briefly.  Peel and slice the pears thinly.  


Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and arrange the pear slices over the top of the cake. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 



Dust with icing sugar and serve.  I mixed a teaspoon of pear liqueur with some creme fraiche for a grown up dessert accompaniment.

7 comments:

  1. Sounds fabulous as cake or pudding. Think the office might be disappointed, can't see that one hanging around for long!

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  2. I made 2 of these today Aoife. The first was very much enjoyed after Sunday lunch and the second is packed up for work colleagues tomorrow. It is a delicious and v more ish cake and I will definitely be making and eating it again.

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    1. I did the same thing - one for my work & one for The Hubs' work... it works beautifully with any fruit in season by the way

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    2. Good to know, also forgot to mention had no pear liqueur but used a tablespoon of calvados instead and it gave it a small kick. Must try it with apple later in the week. Looking forwardto your next blog.

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  3. Love the combination of pear and almond, going to bookmark for when I have some going-spare-so-must-make-cake pears in the fruitbowl!

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  4. Isn't cake great - it actively contributes to your five a day!

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