Anjou pear cake

This fruity cake is at its best when made with melting, buttery pears

Ingredients

50g butter, melted, plus extra for the tin

500g ripe buttery pears, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

juice 1 lemon

1 tbsp poire William liqueur (optional)

75g plain flour

1 heaped tsp baking powder

75g caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp apricot jam, for the glaze

icing sugar, for dusting

crème fraîche, to serve

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment and brush with butter.

Put the prepared pears in a bowl with the lemon juice and Poire William, if using, to prevent them discolouring. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl, adding a pinch of salt and the caster sugar. Next beat in the eggs and melted butter. Finally, fold in the pears with their juices. Pour the cake mixture into the tin. Bake for about 50 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin, gently peeling away the parchment.

To make the glaze, melt the apricot jam with 1 tbsp water and pass through a sieve to remove any lumps. Brush the cake with the glaze, dust with icing sugar and serve warm with crème fraîche.