"This decadent cake has an almost creamy crumb thanks to the addition of almond paste, olive oil, and juicy slices of pear layered throughout."
Pear Almond Olive Oil Cake
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- Recipe Card
Prep time 20mins
Cook time 1hr
Serves or Makes: One 9 x 5-inch loaf
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 2 pears, peeled and thinly sliced
- 6 ounces almond paste
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk yogurt
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter or oil and line with a strip of parchment paper so that you have overhang on the short sides to help you lift the cake out of the pan.
Step 2
Reserve 3-4 of the prettiest pear slices to lay on top of the cake and set aside. Coat the remaining pear slices in 2 tablespoons of flour, removing any excess lumps by gently shaking or brushing the slices. You want a thin coat of flour on each piece.
Step 3
In a large bowl, beat almond paste with an electric mixer until it is broken up and no longer lumpy. Add eggs, brown sugar, yogurt, and 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, beating well to combine. Set aside.
Step 4
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir into wet mixture until just combined and no dry streaks of flour remain.
Step 5
Pour 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan, then add one layer of pear slices, slightly overlapping and pressing them gently into the batter. Add another 1/3 of the batter and repeat with remaining floured pear slices. Add the last 1/3 of the batter, and gently lay your reserved decorative pear slices on top of the batter.
Step 6
Bake cake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the very center comes out clean, rotating halfway through, about one hour. The speed of baking does somewhat depend on how much moisture your pears contain, so start checking the cake after 50 minutes but expect it to take up to one hour and ten minutes to fully bake.
Step 7
Remove cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then gently lift cake out of the pan and cool on a rack completely before serving.