Helen Goh’s melt and mix cinnamon tea cake topped with pears (or plums)

May 17, 2024

Shingling the pear slices allows you to get more fruit into the cake without it sinking into the batter.William Meppem

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:8

Requiring just a mixing bowl and a whisk (OK, you’ll also need a small pan in which to melt the butter), this is a quick and easy cake batter to prepare. Ground almonds or pistachios – or a combination of the two – add richness, while thinly sliced plums are a great substitute for the pears.

Ingredients

100g unsalted butter
180g caster sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
3 large eggs, at room temperature
100ml sunflower (or other flavourless) oil
100ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
100g almond or pistachio meal (or a combination)
180g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
freshly whipped cream, to serve

FOR THE TOPPING

2 medium ripe pears, peeled and halved
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp caster sugar

Method

Step 1
Put the butter into a small pan and melt over low heat, then set aside to cool to tepid.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 170C fan-forced (190C conventional) and line the base and sides of a 20cm cake tin (preferably with removable base) with baking paper.
Step 3
Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl and rub together firmly between your thumb and fingers until the sugar is very fragrant and tinged yellow. Add the eggs and whisk together until combined, then add the oil. Whisk until smooth, then add the milk and vanilla, whisking until combined. Add the almond (and/or pistachio) meal and sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the mix. Stir gently with the whisk until just incorporated into the batter, then dribble in the butter around the perimeter of the bowl, stirring gently. Scrape the batter into the lined cake tin.
Step 4
Prepare the topping: remove the cores and stems from the pears with a small metal spoon or paring knife, then slice the pear halves into 0.5cm pieces, keeping them together. Now fan out the pieces so that they’re slightly overlapping and, using a small spatula, lift portions of the overlapping pear slices and place them gently on top of the cake batter. Don’t worry if the pieces don’t stay neatly together on the cake – they’ll sink randomly into the batter as the cake cooks – but shingling the pears allows you to get more fruit into the cake without it sinking into the batter. Continue until all the slices have been used and the top of the cake is entirely covered.
Step 5
Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the pear slices.
Step 6
Place the cake in a preheated oven and bake for about 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Step 7
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before removing it from the tin. Serve with freshly whipped cream.