Anjou Pear Cake

• butter↗50g g

  melted, plus extra for greasing the pan

• ripe soft pears500g g

  peeled, cored, coarsely sliced

• lemon juice
• Poire William liqueur↗1 ст. л. tbsp

  (optional)

• all‑purpose flour↗75g g
• baking powder↗1 tsp

  a pinch

• fine sugar75g g
• eggs↗2

  beaten

• apricot jam↗2 ст. л. tbsp

  for glaze

• powdered sugar↗

  for dusting

• crème fraîche↗

  for serving

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C with convection) or gas 4. Prepare a 20 cm round cake tin with a removable bottom, line it with parchment and grease with butter.

2. 2

   Place the prepared pears in a bowl, add lemon juice and Poire William liqueur (optional) to prevent darkening. In a separate bowl sift flour, leavening agent, a pinch of salt and fine sugar. Beat the eggs with the melted butter, then gently fold in the pears with their juice. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet, mix until smooth, and pour the batter into the tin.

3. 3

   Bake for about 50 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out dry. Transfer the cake to a rack, let cool slightly, then carefully remove it, taking off the parchment.

4. 4

   For the glaze, melt apricot jam with 1 tbsp water, strain through a sieve to remove lumps. Brush the cake with the glaze, dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with crème fraîche.