Say that a kind friend has sent you 2 pounds of Fruit-of-the-Month Club pears as a thank-you gift. Say that your harried building manager forgets to tell you that these pears are sitting in the office waiting for you to pick them up for 2 weeks, so that when you do finally get your hands on the pears, they are THISCLOSE to being overripe.

What do you do? You make a quick and easy pear cake.

Ingredients

2 pounds pears
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 to 2 tablespoons of butter, chopped into small pieces

Extra butter and flour for the pan

1 Springform pan

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter the inside of the pan thoroughly, then sprinkle flour to cover the bottom of the pan. Shake the pan until you’ve lightly coated the entire bottom. Turn over and tap to remove excess flour.

Peel the pears and cut them in half (top to bottom, not side to side). Use a spoon to remove the seeds and the stringy bits of core. Slice the pears into thin slices. Set aside for a moment.

Beat milk and eggs together in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and salt, continue beating. Slowly add the flour, and continue beating until everything is mixed thoroughly and there are no lumps. Add the sliced pears, vanilla, lemon juice, and cinnamon to the mixing bowl, and stir gently until they are well integrated into the batter.

Pour the batter into the pan, making sure it’s evenly distributed. Sprinkle the top with the bits of chopped butter. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 50 minutes.

When the time is up, remove from the oven and cool until it’s warm but not hot to the touch. Open the springform and transfer the cake to a serving plate.

Notes

  • Taste your pears when slicing them. You may want to adjust the amount of cinnamon and lemon juice depending on the sweetness and flavor of the pears.