I am a woman of simple cakes. I spent a month in 2010 focused on cake decorating (in preparation for Kelly Ripa’s Cake-Off for a Cause, where I rolled fondant with 14 other food bloggers and Buddy “The Cake Boss” Valastro), but despite private lessons and lots of practice on my own, I never really got the cake decorating bug. Truthfully, I prefer my cakes plain, even a little ugly.
This pear cake with ground almonds is a perfect example of the kind of cake I love. It’s based on a traditional French yogurt cake, which I’ve made with lots of variations (lime yogurt cake, chocolate yogurt cake, almond pomegranate yogurt cake, limoncello cake). Grated pears keep the cake moist, and ground almonds add both flavor and texture. It takes 10 minutes to put together, 45 minutes or so in the oven, half an hour to cool enough to cut. Will it win any beauty contests? No. But when I’ve got a hot cup of tea and a slice of this pear almond cake for breakfast, I’m not looking.
Pear almond cake with yogurt
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt (low-fat is fine)
1/3 cup grapeseed or canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1 large pear, peeled, cored and grated
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup ground almonds or almond meal
3 Tbsp coarse raw sugar crystals
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a round 9-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, oil, granulated sugar and almond extract. Add the grated pears and stir to combine.
In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the ground almonds, making sure to break up any clumps.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend with a large spoon or spatula just until everything is incorporated. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the raw sugar. Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack to finish cooling.
