Gateau fondant aux poires : (Moist Pear Cake)

Submitted by Kelley Maillard

"Another French recipe from my mother-in-law that I translated and converted. This cake is one of my favorites! Enjoy!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 4 -5 pears (depending on their size)
• 3⁄4 cup flour
• extra flour, for the cake pan
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1⁄3 cup milk, plus
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• butter
• salt

• topping

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• slivered almonds (optional)

directions

1. In a large bowl, beat sugar, 2 eggs and a pinch of salt until mixture becomes"foamy" and forms a"ribbon" when removing the whisk.
2. Add the flour and baking powder, and then thin out the batter with the milk and oil.
3. Heat oven to 350°F (180°C) Butter and flour a 9 or 10-inch cake pan.
4. Pour half of the batter into the pan.
5. Peel the pears and remove the seeds, then cut into strips.
6. Place the pear strips on the batter.
7. Then pour the remaining batter over the pears.
8. Bake 30 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, prepare the topping as follows: Melt the butter in a sauce pan over a low flame.
10. Beat the egg and sugar in a bowl until well mixed.
11. Add the metled butter.
12. After 30 minutes, take the cake from the oven.
13. Pour the topping over the cake, and then continue baking another 20 minutes.
14. Sprinkle with slivered almonds, if desired.
15. Let cool before removing from pan.

Reviews

[Sackville]

This cake worked out fine, but I had to make quite a few adjustments. First, when I was part way through the recipe, I noticed milk mentioned in the steps but not the ingredients. I had to improvise so I added just enough milk to make what I thought looked like a good thickness of batter, about 2 tablespoons. Then I realised the amount of batter was not nearly enough to fill a 9-10 inch pan (maybe a result of not knowing how much milk to use), so I used an 8 inch pan. I only ended up using about half the pears, and that did two layers over the cake. Finally, the melted butter mixture proved to be way too much for the cake. I only got about half of it on, before it overflowed the pan. I poured a bit off and baked for another twenty minutes, which worked fine. As I said, the end result was actually a pleasing cake but I think that was more down to a bit of luck and baking experience (so I could improvise) than the directions here. This recipe really needs to be clarified.

 

[Louise in Montreal]

I loved this recipe. I am familiar with these cakes where the cake preparation is very liquid. Sometimes, they are called clafoutis, which are patisserie "excuse" to present cooked fruits of the season. We both, husband and I, loved the pear moist cake and do not worry, do it as it is written.