Pear, Fig and Almond Cake

This cake is unashamedly simple and seasonal. It is just about the sweet butter, the soft gentle flavour of the pears and the delicate aroma of the figs and almonds. Pure autumnal indulgence.

The method in this recipe uses a food processor and so the cake is very easy and quick to get into the oven to cook.

Make sure you use the best ingredients you can for this and you will be rewarded with a delightfully light, rich and delicious cake your friends and family with love.

Method

You will need a 22cm cake tin, buttered and lined and a food processor. The eggs and butter need to be room temperature. 

Pre-heat the oven to 180c/160c Fan.

Prep time: 10 mins Cooking time: 1 hour 20 - 30 minutes plus cooling.

Peel and core the pears. Chop 3 of the pears and thinly slice the rest.

Put the pear slices in bowl and squeeze over some of the lemon juice to stop them from browning. Chop the figs in to small pieces.

Next, put the butter and sugar into the food processor and cream until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs and, with the motor running, gradually add to the butter and sugar. Make sure each addition of egg is completely mixed in before adding more.

Add the ground almonds and flour to the food processor. Pulse until everything is well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and gently fold in the chopped pears and the figs.

Spoon the cake mixture into the buttered and lined cake tin. Push it into the edges of the tin and smooth over the top so that it is even. Arrange the pear slices onto top of the cake mix in two circles - one inside the other. Sprinkle over the Demerara sugar.

Place the cake in the oven and cook for 1 hour 20 -30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then gently move to a cooling rack. Heat the honey in a ramekin for a 20 seconds in the microwave. Use a pastry brush to brush the honey over the top of the cake as a glaze.

Serve warm or cold, perhaps with a bit of ice cream or cream if you are feeling particularly in need of indulgence.

This cake is best kept in an airtight tin and eaten within a day or so because of the fruit on the top.

If you can’t get fresh, ripe pears, you can use 2 x 400g tinned pear halves in fruit juice as a substitute. 

Ingredients

5 ripe pears

60g soft figs chopped

140g caster sugar

175g soft butter

2 large eggs beaten

140g self-raising flour

100 ground almonds

1 tbsp Demerara sugar

2 tbsp runny honey