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An Easy Pear Brunch Cake for Mothers Everywhere

Hello lovely people, I’m Sally — a former restaurant chef turned home cook and cookbook author. Every week, I share simple, healthy-ish recipes that make everyday cooking feel a little more special and as easy as possible, no fancy ingredients required. I’m so glad you’re here — thank you for reading and supporting my work. You can find out more about this newsletter and me here. If you liked this post, please click the little heart above and share it! ❤️

As soon as I finish sending this, I’ll be heading to the airport for a combination Mother’s Day and birthday trip: London! Nice! Grasse! Oui!

Motherhood was not easily achieved for me, but wow, when it was, I hit the jackpot. Our one and only son Luke, now all grown up, living in London, and a new father himself, has brought me more joy than I could ever have imagined. What a ride! Luckily you never stop being a mother even when your little birds have flown. My ultra-wonderful daughter-in-law Chelsea and their new baby Leon (AKA Mr. Baby) keeps my cup overflowing.

I’ll have tales to tell in the next few weeks, but for now, I’ll just keep it short and sweet with this special brunch cake that was passed down mother to daughter for who knows how long.

My mother wasn’t much of a baker (or cook, for that matter) but she often whipped up an apple cake for a special treat. We knew it as Grandmother’s Apple Cake. Years later, I received a trove of my grandmother’s cookbooks with well-worn pages and hand-written notes, mostly on desserts. In her handwriting was the inscription ‘’Mother’s Apple Cake.’‘

I always thought that the grandmother whose name was on the recipe was my grandmother. When I asked my mother about it, she told me, with a wobble of nostalgia in her voice, ‘’that was my grandmother’s cake. We kids used to sneak into the kitchen for a slice on Sundays when we visited. There were usually two or three cakes cooling on the table.’‘ For my mom, the cake evoked memories of Sunday dinners and the constant ebb and flow of cousins, aunts, and uncles.

At some point I started swapping out the apples for other fruits and particularly enjoy the way pears turn soft and creamy here. In this updated method, you can make the cake batter quickly in a food processor; BONUS! (Grandmother would have used a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease). The lightly sweetened cake layer is thin and serves as a backdrop for piling on the pears, which are sprinkled with sugar and warm spices. It’s an anytime cake with numerous possibilities for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon snack.

Pear Brunch Cake Recipe
Serves 6 | Prep time: 20 minutes | Bake time: 35 minutes
TOPPING
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
2. Stir until thoroughly combined.

CAKE
Butter (for the pan)
Flour (for the pan)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 pears (Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc), halved, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch slices

1. Set an oven shelf in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cake pan or a 9-inch fluted tart tin with a removable rim. Sprinkle with flour and tap out the excess. Set the pan on a baking sheet

2. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, egg, vanilla, and butter until blended. Run the machine for a few seconds, or until the batter is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary. The batter will be thick.

3. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth it with the back of a spoon. Starting at the outside edge, arrange the pears over the batter in a circular pattern, overlapping them slightly to cover the batter. You may not need all the pear slices. Sprinkle the cake all over with the topping.

4. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it looks golden at the edges and pulls slightly away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the cake to a wire rack. Cool for 10 minutes.

5. Cut the cake into wedges and serve it from the pan. If you used a pan with a removable rim, set the pan on top of a small bowl and let the rim drop away. Cut into slices and serve.

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  XXOO
  Sally