Pear-Almond Cake

After baking the Strawberry Buttermilk Cake, which was my first cast-iron skillet cake, I was dying to try another! This time I tried the Pear-Almond Cake recipe from the Bake from Scratch Vol.1 book and I loved it as well. The almond flavor was spot on, not too overwhelming. I often think the almond taste in classic wedding cakes is too much but this cake was the perfect mix. The absolute best part about this cake was the bite of pear you get, it kept the cake extremely moist underneath, we were all fitting for those pear bites!

Directions:

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray a 9-inch cast-iron skillet with baking spray with flour.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
6. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
7. Beat in extracts.
8. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
9. Place pears cut side down in a pinwheel fashion over batter.
10. Bake until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.
11. Sprinkle with almonds, and bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes more.
12. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes.
13. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve warm.

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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