Torta di pere - Italian pear cake

My paternal grandmother is from Périgord, fruits there are abundant. Growing up I enjoyed going over for "le goûter" as often we, children, could expert thin apple tarts, apple sauce and many other sweet treats. One thing, my grandmother always had was a bowl with fresh fruits. She always commented this was a necessity. My mother studied arts in Italy and requested that we, children, learn Italian over Spanish as a third language. We travelled to visit family friends in Venice. As a child, I remember the banana tea and their amazing sweets found at their local "pasticeria". My husband and I visited Pompei about 2 years ago, I enjoyed visiting and tasting many of the local sweets including their artisanal "gelati" (ice creams) during our trip. My husband being from the country side does not care as much as me for delicate complicated desserts commonly found at bakeries in Paris. He is also used to having more rustic desserts. Italian desserts depending on the region appear to be more simple as more rustic though in my opinion this traditional italian cake is a staple recipe. If you like pears and don't care for overly sweet desserts, you most likely will enjoy this simple though flavorful cake.

Torta di pere

Ingredients:

3-4 ripped pears (I use Anjou and Bartlett pears)
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter + a bit more to butter the pan

optional almond extract or amaretto liquor

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degree fahrenheit. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the eggs and sugar until creamy in consistency. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Add gradually and sift the dry ingredients to the eggs and sugar mixture. When well incorporated, add the lightly melted soft butter and mix well, the batter should seem smooth. Pour the batter into your buttered pan. Prep the pears, peeled and cut them into chunks. Add them to your pan, press them gently into the batter. Then bake for about 30-35 minutes or until sides seem golden and tooth pick comes out clean. Let the cake cool before enjoying it.

Optional: if you like the taste of almond like I, feel free to add into your batter a tsp of pure almond extract or even some amaretto liquor. I find almond flavor enhances and compliments well the flavor of the pears in this cake.