Pear Almond Cake with Creme Anglaise. A wonderfully moist and nutty flavoured cake with sweet pears baked right in and served with warm Creme Anglaise custard. A superb Autumn comfort food dessert.
Originally published Nov 16, 2009
Readers in the UK will undoubtedly know of the fantastic Channel 4 food series “River Cottage”. I was watching the first episode of the new Winter series yesterday morning with Spouse, (the pear lover) and we just had to make this slightly adapted version for dessert with our roast turkey Sunday supper.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the host and chef on the show, served his with clotted cream but I decided to serve it warm with a warm Creme Anglaise, which is a very simple custard sauce.
The cake was wonderfully moist and the pears were tender perfection. The Creme Anglaise complimented it perfectly too. This is a MUST TRY recipe! …and if you’ve never visited the “River Cottage, I highly recommend the journey!
Like this recipe?
If you liked this great recipe you may also like our recipe for Sunken Grape Almond Cake:
Like this Pear Almond Cake recipe?
You’ll find lots more great ideas like this in our Cakes & Pies Category and in our Brunch Category.
It’s easy to keep up with the latest home style cooking & baking ideas from Rock Recipes. Be sure to follow Rock Recipes Facebook Page and follow us on Instagram. Plus you’ll see daily recipe suggestions from decadent desserts to quick delicious weekday meals too.
You can also sign up for our FREE newsletter to know immediately when we add new recipes. You’ll also get weekly suggestions for great family friendly meals and desserts too!
Pear Almond Cake with Creme Anglaise
Pear Almond Cake with Creme Anglaise -A wonderfully moist and nutty flavoured cake with sweet pears baked right in and served with warm Creme Anglaise custard. A superb Autumn comfort food dessert.
Ingredients
- 3-4 medium sized pears, peeled cored and quartered
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups butter (+ 1/4 cup / 55g butter )
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the Crème Anglaise
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or the seeds from one small vanilla pod
- 3/4 cup whole milk, or use half milk and half whipping cream for a richer sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To Prepare the Pears
- Heat the 1/4 cup butter and brown sugar together in a large sauté pan until bubbling. Add the pears and nutmeg and cook until the pears are softened, tossing occasionally.
- To prepare the Almond Cake
- Cream together the 1 1/2 cups butter, sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time and beating after each addition.
- Sift together the flour, almonds, baking powder, pinch salt and cinnamon.
- Fold into the creamed butter mixture just until the flour is incorporated.
- Spoon the batter evenly into a greased and floured 10 inch spring form pan (no smaller!) Arrange the pears on top of the batter and pour the pan drippings from the sautéed pears over the top. Bake for about 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Serve warm with clotted cream or Crème Anglaise.
To make Creme Anglaise
- Scald the milk almost to boiling. Add vanilla seeds or extract at this point.
- Whisk egg yolks and sugar well together until pale.
- Slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the scalded milk to the whisked egg yolks and sugar whisking very quickly as you pour.
- Add this mixture to the pot along with the rest of the milk and stir constantly with a wooden spoon over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Recommended Products
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Nutrition Information
Yield
14Serving Size
gAmount Per Serving Calories 442Saturated Fat 13gCholesterol 142mgSodium 201mgCarbohydrates 47gFiber 2gSugar 33gProtein 6g
Sheila Boone
Friday 6th of September 2019
On what network do you watch River Cottage in NL?
Barry C. Parsons
Saturday 5th of October 2019
I don't watch network TV any more but it was on PBS.
Barry C. Parsons
Tuesday 17th of November 2009
I really couldn't say as I've never made a substitution. You could try adding a little more flour.
MargaretJ
Monday 16th of November 2009
Barry, can you suggest a substitution for the ground almonds?
diva
Monday 16th of November 2009
oh this must sure taste wonderful! i'll douse the whole thing with creme anglaise and add a dollop of ice cream on top for good measure :D