This Italian pear cake is light, fluffy, and easy to make with just 8 ingredients - A simple pear dessert perfect for fall season!
This Italian pear cake is so light and fluffy and just perfect for fall!
It’s super easy to make and full of sweet, juicy pears, making it a cozy treat for the cooler months.
With just one bowl, you can whip up this cake in no time!
The pears give it a tender texture, while a little citrus zest adds a fresh pop of flavor. It’s a simple, go-to cake that highlights one of the best autumn fruits.
You can enjoy it on its own or dress it up with some whipped cream, orange curd, Italian pastry cream, zabaglione, or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
My family and friends can’t get enough of this cake, and I know you’ll love it too!
Together with my Italian apple cake, this is one of my favorite fall desserts, perfect for birthdays, cozy afternoons, or a weekend treat!
Ingredients
For this easy cake made with pears, you'll need basic ingredients you most probably have in your pantry already.
Here are the 9 ingredients you'll need:
- Pears: Use your favorite fresh pears variety. Bosc pears, Bartlett, Anjou, or Comice pears will work great. I don't recommend using canned pears, because their texture is too soft.
- Flour: I use regular all-plain flour or Italian 00 flour.
- Butter: Always use room-temperature butter. You can swap it with extra-virgin olive oil to make a dairy-free pear cake.
- Eggs: Opt for medium-sized eggs at room temperature.
- Sugar: I use raw cane sugar, but regular granulated sugar works just as fine.
- Honey: It's optional, but it adds a lovely flavor to this cake.
- Baking powder: A little baking powder gives the cake a soft and bouncy texture.
- Lemon: Opt for an organic lemon, because you will use both the zest and juice. You can substitute it with orange if you like.
- Vanilla: It's optional, but a welcomed extra layer of flavor.
VARIATIONS
- Almonds: For a delicious pear almond cake version, simply add ¼ US cup (25 gram) of almond flour or almond meal.
- Cocoa: Add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder for a light chocolatey aroma.
- Chocolate: For a simple pear and chocolate cake, add 3 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips.
- Spices: Add ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger for a lightly spiced note.
How to make Italian pear cake
This pear cake recipe couldn't be easier to make!
You only need one bowl, and it takes just 10 minutes to put together.
Check out the quick recipe overview below with step-by-step pictures.
Scroll down until the end of the post for the full printable recipe.
STEP 1. Whisk butter and sugar until well blended, fluffy and pale yellow. Then whisk in one egg at a time, followed by lemon zest, and vanilla.
STEP 2. Place a sieve over the bowl and add flour and baking powder, whisk briefly to combine all the ingredients.
STEP 3. Add in chopped pears and mix briefly to combine all ingredients.
STEP 4. Pour the batter into the cake pan, top with sliced pears, and bake for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool and serve.
Once your cake is baked, brush the top with apricot jam, orange jam, or peach jam: it’ll give the cake a beautiful glaze and make it even more delicious!
Baking tips
- Measure your ingredients: For the best baking results, I always recommend using a baking scale to weigh your ingredients.
- Cut pears into small pieces: Peel and chop your pears into small cubes. If the pieces are too big, they might sink to the bottom or not cook all the way through.
- Don’t over-mix the batter: Once the ingredients are combined, do not continue mixing. Over-mixing can make the cake dry or tough.
- Don’t over-bake: The cake is ready when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, and the top is no longer sticky or wet.
Storage tips
- Serve: You can leave your easy pear cake at room temperature for up to 1 hour. If you want to keep it out longer, store it in an airtight container in a cool, dry spot in your kitchen.
- Fridge: The cake will stay fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: Cut the cake into slices, place them on a tray, and freeze for 30 minutes. Then, transfer the slices into ziplock bags and freeze for up to 1 month.
Did you try this recipe?
Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook!
Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates.
Recipe
Italian Pear Cake
Ingredients
- 600 g pears, peeled and cored, about 5 pears
- 120 ml butter, at room temperature
- 120 g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon honey, optional
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder, approx 15 gram
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/360°F and adjust a baking rack onto the middle shelf. Grease and line with parchment paper a 9-inch cake pan and set it aside.
- Chop about ½ of the pears for the cake batter and set them aside. Slice or chop the remaining fruit for the topping, and set them aside.
- In a large bowl whisk the butter and sugar with an electric whisker until light, pale, and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Then gently whisk one egg at a time, followed by the lemon zest, honey, vanilla (if using), and a pinch of sea salt.
- Place a sieve/ strainer over the bowl. Add flour and baking powder, and sift into the cake batter. Whisk until just combined (do not overmix).
- Add the chopped pears to the batter and mix until just combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Top the batter with the remaining fresh fruit.
- Bake in the oven for approximately 40 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of baking time, cover the top of the cake with foil to prevent it from browning too much. To check if the cake is ready, insert a toothpick in the center, if it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
- Remove the cake from the oven, allow to cool, then gently remove the cake from the pan.
- Brush your Italian pear cake with apricot jam, or dust with powdered sugar and serve at room temperature. It's lovely topped with vanilla ice cream, fresh cream, or Greek yogurt.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Phyllis says
Help! What is 120 ml of butter in ounces or grams? Not sure how much to use.
Phyllis says
For the variation with almond meal, I’m assuming that you substitute 1/4 c.(25 grams) of the all purpose flour with 25 grams of almond meal. Is that correct? The recipe variation says to add 25 grams of almond meal. This implies that you add it in addition to the flour in the original recipe. Thanks for your reply.
Winnie says
Made it for breakfast and added almonds, it’s delicious!!!
Alessia says
This is just like the authentic Italian pear cake my nonna used to make, thank you for sharing!