Pear And Raspberry Cake

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Pear-and-raspberry-cakeFresh raspberries, sliced pears and a little diced marzipan make this fruity cake the ideal afternoon treat. Serve with a dollop of greek yoghurt. 

Serves 8-10

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes

What You’ll Need: 

  • 2 ripe pears, about 300 g (11 oz) in total, peeled, cored, sliced
  • 1 lemon, grated rind and juice
  • 200 g (7 oz) butter, at room temperature
  • 200 g (7 oz) caster sugar
  • 200 g (7 oz) self-raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 150 g (5 oz) raspberries, plus extra to decorate (Optional)
  • 150 g (5 oz) readymade marzipan, diced
  • Raspberry sauce (Optional)
  • 150 g (5 oz) raspberries
  • 2 tablespoons caster or icing sugar
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Little sifted icing sugar to decorate
What To Do: 

1) Grease and base line a 23 cm (9 inch) springform tin with a circle of greaseproof or non-stick baking paper. Toss the pear slices in the lemon juice to stop them going brown.

2) Cream the butter, sugar and lemon rind together in a bowl until light and fluffy.

3) In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. Beat 1 egg into the butter mixture then a spoonful or two of the flour and beat again until smooth, continue until all the eggs and flour have been added.

4) Spoon half the cake mixture into the cake tin and spread into an even layer. Arrange half the pears on top, sprinkle with half the raspberries and half the marzipan. Spoon over the remaining cake mixture and repeat the layers.

5) Bake at 160°C / 325°F / Gas mark 3 for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes until the cake is well risen and a skewer will come out cleanly when inserted into the centre. Cover with foil after 50-60 minutes if the cake seems to be browning too quickly.

6) Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then loosen the edge and unclip the side of the tin and remove. Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes if serving warm or longer if serving cold.

7) To make the sauce, puree the raspberries in a food processor or liquidiser with the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Press through a sieve and discard the seeds then pour into a jug.

8) Peel the paper off the base of the cake, put on to a serving plate, decorate with extra raspberries, if liked then dust the top with icing sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with a drizzle of sauce, if liked.

Recipe from Seasonalberries.co.uk

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