Pear Cake from My Recipe-a-Day Diary

Recently I've developed a strange habit.  When I see a recipe I want to try, I jot it down in my strange recipe shorthand in my diary.  Most people have diaries full of social appointments...mine is full of cooking ingredients!  

This is good AND bad.  Good to have a Recipe-a-Day diary...bad because I don't know who is the original author of the recipe.  If this is your recipe, thank you for sharing it.  I am sorry I can't give you credit but let me know and I'll make amends.   Today's recipe is for Pear Cake...pure and simple...no nonsense! 


2-4 pears (depending on the size) peeled, cored, cut 1/4 inch thick slices
180 grams caster sugar
4 eggs 
150 grams plain flour
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder 
125 grams butter- melted then allowed to cool slightly 

Heat the oven to 180C/350F.   Butter a square baking tin and dust it liberally with flour.  Arrange the pear slices in the bottom of the tin so they completely cover the base...no gaps allowed.  

Place the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the are very pale and doubled in volume.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Turn the mixer down a bit and add the dry ingredients a little at a time, then slowly pour the butter down the side of the mixing bowl beating the butter into the batter.  Gently pour the batter over the pears in the baking tin.  

Bake for about 35-45 minutes, testing the cake at about 30 minutes.   The cake should spring back when lightly touched and be a light golden colour.  Remove the cake from the tin while it is still hot so the fruit will be on the top of the cake.... upside-down-cake style.  

You can serve this with custard or ice cream or just a little dusting of icing sugar.  I just had a chunk of it plain, warm from the oven!  

*A special thank you to Arthur for giving me these lovely pears from his allotment.  They were juicy and delicious.