A moist, tender cake made with our Ultra-Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil in place of butter, studded with pear and almond for a not-too-sweet treat that’s great with coffee.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup Ultra-Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ⅔ cup blanched almond flour
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon tightly packed lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large Anjou pear
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 9-inch springform pan with baking spray with flour, line bottom of pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat eggs at high speed until uniform in color and foamy, about 1 minute. With mixer on medium speed, gradually add granulated sugar in a slow, steady stream. Increase mixer speed to high, and beat until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Mix on low speed, gradually add oil in a slow, steady stream, beating until combined, scrape sides of bowl. Add almond flour, milk, lemon zest, and extracts, and beat at medium speed until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold all-purpose flour mixture into egg mixture just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Cut pear in half. Core each half and cut off the top part of pear and stem. Cut pear halves into ⅛-inch-thick slices. Divide slices into groups of 4 to 5. Fan slices, and gently place on top of cake batter. Gently brush lemon juice onto pear slices. Sprinkle almonds around edge of batter and between groups of fanned pears.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Serve warm or let cool completely on base of pan on a wire rack.
- Before serving, cut a 7-inch circle from parchment paper, place in center of cake. Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift confectioners’ sugar onto edges of cake, if desired.
