Butter cake with pears and cinnamon Recipe
This creamed butter cake with pears is a homely classic known from Polish kitchens, especially in the season for sweet, soft fruit. It has a buttery, slightly moist crumb with soft but not overcooked pieces of pear and a warm cinnamon aroma. Simply creaming butter with sugar gives a fluffy, evenly rising cake without complicated techniques.
Creamed butter cakes are a staple of Polish home baking and are often combined with seasonal fruit like apples, plums or pears., Using pears instead of apples gives a softer, more delicate character that many people associate with early autumn and cosy afternoons., Dusting the finished cake with icing sugar and cutting it into squares is a typical way of serving simple tray bakes on family tables and at casual gatherings.
This cake has the character of an apple cake but in a gentler, pear‑based version – less acidity, more buttery sweetness., Thanks to the simple creaming method it works well even with imperfect, soft pears that would be hard to serve raw., Baked in a rectangular tin it can be easily cut into even cubes for lunchboxes or for a family table.
Why this version works
- Soft, well‑creamed butter aerates the batter so the cake rises evenly and doesn’t turn out dense.
- A generous amount of pears replaces some of the moisture from dairy, giving a juicy centre without a gummy underbaked layer.
- Cinnamon mixed into the dry ingredients distributes evenly, so the flavour is consistent in every bite.
Chef's tips
If you’re not sure whether the cake is baked through, check with a skewer in two spots: in the centre and closer to the edge – the centre always bakes through last., Be careful not to dry out the top: as soon as it turns golden and feels springy to the touch, start checking the oven every 3–4 minutes., After cooling, store the cake under a light cloth rather than in an airtight box if your kitchen is very humid – the crust won’t soften too much.
How to serve
Serve slightly warm, dusted with icing sugar, or with a spoonful of thick plain yogurt or sour cream to balance the sweetness., It pairs well with black tea with lemon or coffee with milk, especially as a dessert after a simple home‑cooked meal., For office gatherings cut the cake into small rectangles and separate layers with parchment so pieces are easy to pick up from the plate.
Watch out for
- Butter that is too hard, straight from the fridge, won’t cream properly – the cake will be low and heavy.
- Don’t beat for long after adding the flour, as overworking activates the gluten and leads to a rubbery texture.
- Very overripe, very soft pears must be patted dry, otherwise the centre can turn out underbaked and stodgy.
Substitutions
- You can replace about 60 g of the wheat flour with ground almonds for a more nutty aroma.
- Instead of cinnamon use gingerbread spice mix if you want a more spiced character.
- You can partially replace the pears with apples, keeping the total fruit weight the same.
Ingredients
- pears - 400 g
- wheat flour - 280 g
- butter - 150 g
- sugar - 160 g
- egg - 3 piece
- baking powder - 10 g
- vanillin sugar - 8 g
- cinnamon - 1.5 teaspoons
- salt - 1 pinch
- breadcrumbs - 10 g
Preparation
- Take the butter out of the fridge at least an hour in advance – it should be soft like modelling clay, not liquid. Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Line a 24×28 cm tin with baking paper or grease it with butter and dust with breadcrumbs, thoroughly coating the base and sides.
- Peel the pears, remove the cores and cut into cubes of about 1.5 cm. If they release a lot of juice, gently pat them dry with paper towel – the pieces should be moist but not dripping.
- Transfer the soft butter to a large bowl, add the sugar and vanillin sugar. Beat with a mixer for 4–5 minutes until the mixture becomes very pale, fluffy and clearly increases in volume – when you drag a spoon through it, distinct tracks should remain.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until fully combined. The mixture may look slightly curdled or grainy – that’s normal, the important thing is that the fat doesn’t separate as a layer around the edges.
- In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt so the baking powder is evenly distributed. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
- Briefly mix with a spoon or on the lowest mixer speed just until the flour streaks disappear. The batter should be thick, uniform and slowly fall off the spoon; don’t beat further so it doesn’t become heavy.
- Add the diced pears and gently fold in with a spoon, lifting the batter from the bottom, until the fruit is evenly distributed without dense “pockets” in one place.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared tin, smooth the top with a spatula, gently pressing the batter into the corners so no empty spaces remain. The surface should be roughly level.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the top is evenly golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean of batter (it may be slightly moist from the pears, but without sticky dough). If the top darkens too quickly, loosely cover the tin with aluminium foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave it in the tin for 15 minutes to firm up slightly. Then carefully lift it onto a rack and cool completely – the bottom should stay dry, not steamy. Dust with icing sugar before serving and cut into squares.
Storage
The cake tastes best on the day of baking and the next day; later the edges dry slightly while the centre stays moist from the pears., When cutting after 1–2 days use a sharp knife, as the top may crumble a little.
I like this cake best the day after baking – when the flavours have melded and the pear pieces become almost creamy, perfect with an afternoon coffee at my desk.
