This lovely fresh pear cake is light in texture, with a crispy, crackly sugar topping. Lovely enjoyed warm with a dollop of Crème Fraîche.
I have a fondness for pear cakes. Baked pears are simply divine, especially when combined with some delicious cake. A few years ago, I shared this delicious Italian Pear Almond Cake. Like that cake, this French Pear Cake is more pears than cake.
This French Pear Cake has some differences though, as it uses a lighter batter to produce a lighter and airier cake. It also features a lovely crispy, crackly sugar-dusted topping. Same great baked pear cake goodness, in another delicious form!
Enjoy this cake slightly warm with a dollop of Crème Fraîche. Crème Fraîche is the perfect creamy, tangy foil for the baked pears and cake.
If you don't have or can't find Crème Fraîche, fear not! You can make your own easily and economically. Scroll down for the how-to! If Crème Fraîche isn't an option, a dollop of very lightly sweetened whipped cream would be a great alternative. Or vanilla ice cream. You really can't go wrong here :)
How to Make Your Own Crème Fraîche at home
To make your own Crème Fraîche at home, in a glass jar or cup, simply combine 1 cup of heavy, 35% b.f. whipping cream with 2 Tbsp well shaken buttermilk. Stir well to combine. Cover the top of the jar or glass with something breathable, such as a ring of parchment paper, slightly damp paper towel, a coffee filter, cheesecloth etc. and secure with string or a rubber band. Let stand at room temperature for 12-24 hours (depending on the temperature in your kitchen), until mixture thickens into a creamy, but not stiff mixture. Transfer to the refrigerator, where it can be used and kept up to 2 weeks.
Cook's Notes
I didn't peel the pears for this cake, although you certainly can if you like.
I also used a combination of both Bartlett and red pears, as that's what I had on hand. It's probably best to use just one kind of pear per cake, though if you find yourself with a variety on hand, go right ahead with that :)
Ripe, but still firm pears work best with this cake.
To core the pears, simply cut in half down from just beside the stem. Using a small spoon, scoop out the centre core, then use the tip of the spoon to remove the upper stem spine (the part leading up from the core to the top stem) and cut out the bottom blossom end, as well.
Top Tip: To quickly and easily line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper, simply lay a sheet over the bottom ring, then attach the outer ring over the parchment. Trim the excess on the outside of the pan (it doesn't have to be pretty to work :)
French Pear Cake with Crème Fraîche
Ingredients
For cake batter:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
For filling:
- 3 pears, ripe but still firm, peeled or unpeeled, halved and cored
For topping:
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup flaked almonds, optional
For serving:
- Crème Fraîche, alternately whipped cream or ice cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. with rack in centre of oven. Prepare a 10-inch springform pan by spraying with baking spray and lining the bottom ring with parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Prepare the pears: You can peel the pears if you like, or simply leave the peel on. Cut in half down from the stem end to the bottom. Scoop out the core with a spoon and remove the stem spine and bottom blossom end. Place cut side down on a cutting board and cut each half in to 1/4-inch-ish slices. Transfer the sliced halves to the prepared baking pan, cut side down, fanning out the slices slightly. Arrange the sliced halves in a ring around the outside of the pan. The sliced halves should just touch each other in the centre and fan out slightly towards the outside edges. The centre couple of inches should be empty. You may or may not need all your pears. Simply fill until it's filled around. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric beater or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and the 1 cup of sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
- Spoon the batter in to the centre of the prepared pan. Using a knife, gently spread the batter in to a thin layer out to the outside edges of the pan. It will seem very thin and barely cover the pears. Scatter the flaked almonds over the centre area of the batter. Sprinkle top of batter evenly with the 1/4 cup white sugar.
- Bake in preheated oven until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.
- Let the cake cool 5-10 minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the outside and remove the outer ring. Allow to cool a bit more, then slice and enjoy warm with a dollop of Crème Fraîche.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided for general guidance only and should not be relied upon to make personal health decisions.
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Hi! I'm Jennifer, a home-cook of many years and a lifelong seeker of delicious food! I'm an equal opportunity eater. I enjoy eating all the foods!
Krystal says
Easy to make and delicious! <3
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Krystal :) Thanks so much!
Lynne T says
Hello and Happy Holidays, I just received some beautiful pears as a gift and found your lovely recipes. The French Pear Cake sounds wonderful and thought I might make for Christmas. I am having trouble visualizing how the pears are to be arranged at the bottom of the pan. Could you describe a bit more? Am I to fan the sliced pear half with the tappered ends toward the center of the pan? Thank you
Sincerely,
Lynne
Jennifer says
Hi Lynne and yes, you're just slicing each pear half, then fanning out on the bottom of the pan. It works best with the thin ends toward the centre. Enjoy :)
Sophie says
This cake looks so good! I have a question that may be silly, as I'm new to baking. Would coconut sugar achieve the same cracked layer as regular sugar, perhaps if I ground it to be more fine? My friend is sensitive to white sugar so I was wondering if it was possible to substitute it and achieve a similar result. Thank you, I'm looking forward to making this :)
Jennifer says
Hi Sophie, I have no experience baking with coconut sugar, but in many ways, sugars will behave the same way, so I suspect it would work just fine. I would definitely run it through a food processor to make it a little more fine and of course, it will introduce a bit of coconut flavour to the cake.
Antoinette says
I love pies, this is the next best thing LOL. Perfect texture and I get my fruit. Really didn’t take much time to make, thank you!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Antoinette :) Thanks so much!
Sherry Gorman says
This is a delicious cake. I usually make a French Apple cake but had some ripe pears that had to be used so I did an online search and found your recipe. What a pleasant surprise, it was even better than my apple cake. This cake is definitely company worthy. I did substitute almond extract for the vanilla, as I think those flavours pair perfectly. I also had leftover pears, so I diced them(about 1/2 c) and folded them in to the batter after mixing. I used an 8 inch pan and baked for an additional 8-10 minutes, consequently it wasn’t as flat as you described but I prefer that.
Merci
Sherry G.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Sherry :) Thanks so much!
Cadie says
I made this tonight after cooking dinner on a week night with pears my coworker brought today from her pear tree. This cake is soooo good and came together really quickly. I didn’t feeling like digging around for a springform pan but realized quickly why that’s the recommendation when I flipped the cake over onto a cooling rack and half the sugar topping rained all over my kitchen floor. 😆 Still, totally worth it. Thank you for this divine recipe!!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Cadie, despite the loss of sugar :) Thanks so much!
Eisha Mason says
Can I make this gluten free?
Jennifer says
Hi Eisha, possibly, but as I don't bake gluten free myself, I haven't tested this recipe that way. My best advice is to try it with a good quality, 1-for-1 gluten free flour.
Krystal says
Can this cake be baked in a cast iron skillet?
Jennifer says
Hi Krystal and yes, it can, as long as the size is similar. Enjoy!
Bonnie D says
This is fantastic! I can’t stop eating it.
Jennifer says
Glad you are enjoying it, Bonnie. I have that problem, too :) Thanks!
Alice says
Delicious! So light and elegant. Will definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Alice :) Thanks so much!
Megan Smith says
Delicious cake - I have a fair bit left over and wondered if you are you able to freeze the leftover?
Jennifer says
Hi Megan, it should freeze pretty well. Might be a bit more moist after thawing.
Alice says
Hats off to you! I have been baking since I was a child which means now that I’m 60+ years old I can pretty much tell which recipes will be good simply by reading them. I felt quite sure this would be good. The surprise was that it turned out to be so much more than good. Thank you. I plan on trying your Italian pear cake next.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Alice :) Thanks so much!
Kelly says
My thoughts exactly! After 40+ years of baking I felt confident this recipe was a winner but still was surprised that it was even better than expected. I’ve told so many people about this recipe and I only made it 4 days ago
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Kelly :) So glad you enjoyed it!
Ann says
I made this wonderfully elegant cake for the first time this season using pears from a tree my father planted some 40 years ago in our family's garden. We had a huge harvest and I was delighted to have found a great and simple recipe. I baked at least 10 of these cakes, giving some away as gifts to family and friends. The cake is moist, light, not too sweet, and simple to make. I added a teaspoon of almond extract in addition to the vanilla. It turned out beautifully every time and got rave reviews. I like to think that my dad, who is no longer with us, is smiling knowing that the pear tree that he lovingly planted and cultivated all those years is still being enjoyed by family and friends. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Jennifer says
How wonderful, Ann! So glad you enjoyed it and it came with wonderful memories of your Dad. Thanks!
Shiela Granado says
We have a Bartlett pear tree and I am always looking for recipes. My daughter sent me this recipe and I made it the other night. The cake was so light and airy, not overly sweet. I didn't have sliced almonds but I had almonds so I chopped them which worked out just fine. My daughter just moved into a new home and we are going over there tonight and I am baking another cake because it is absolutely fabulous! I also did not have a springform pan but I have Demarle silicone cookware and it came out beautiful.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Shiela :) Thanks so much!
Charlotte says
Made this tonight for hubby and myself.
I cut the recipe in half and baked in a 6 inch stainless steel cake pan for 40 mins. Perfect!! Will definitely make this as per recipe for a dinner party dessert in the future but for now half recipe is perfect for two❤️😋
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Charlotte :) Thanks so much!
Laura says
I’m eating this as I type. It’s absolutely delicious. I didn’t have sour cream so I used Greek yoghurt. Also cut down the sugar to 2/3 cup. Will use the flakes almonds next time... didn’t have those either. But the sugar sprinkled on top forms a thin crust which is just yum! Thank you for sharing :).
Jennifer says
Glad you enjoyed it, Laura :) Thanks so much!
Kerrin says
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious. My toddler thanked me for making him "some yummy cake" and I've already sent the link for this recipe to multiple family members. So good.
Jennifer says
So glad everyone enjoyed it Kerrin :) Thanks so much!
Katie says
This turned out perfectly! I didn't use a spring-form pan & I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream, but it all worked out amazingly! Delicious
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Katie :) Thanks so much!
Tricia says
This cake was such a hit. I have had to share the recipe several times already! It is light and elegant but surprisingly easy!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Tricia :) Thanks so much!
Emma says
I made it several times it is always a hit and everyone in the family is talking about it.. or asking for it again:) Thank you so much!
Jennifer says
Glad to hear, Emma :) Thanks so much!
Claire Caines says
Thank you for this lovely, delicate cake. I rarely comment on recipes although I bake mostly from recipes found online. But this one is such a Standout - I had to! I halved the recipe for my husband and me, not knowing what to expect. I opted for cake flour and added a few drops of almond extract along with vanilla bean paste instead of pure vanilla. I can’t express how surprised and delighted we were with the light, airy texture and just-right sweetness. An all around winner.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Claire :) Thanks so much!
Morgan says
Great recipe! Wonderful flavor! We will definitely make it again. Side note: I did find it took longer to bake than directed. Perhaps just a difference in ovens. It ended up taking about an hour, with checking on it every 6-8 minutes past the original 35 minutes.
Jennifer says
Glad you enjoyed it, Morgan and wow, that's a big difference in baking time. It's been a while since I made it, but will be sure to test it again to double check the baking time. Pan colour can make a big difference in baking time, as well (dark cooks more quickly and light, more slowly).