Asian Pear Bundt Cake

This is recipe was conceived on paper and born of a need to use several homegrown Asian pears. Our pears aren't that large and in a good season might even grow to be as large as your fist. Well, that is, if you're able to pick the fruit as its peak ripeness before the birds peck it to death. You don't see Asian pears in recipes that often and certainly not for cakes or breads because the flesh is quite dense with lots of water and fiber. There aren't that many bundt recipes calling for apples either. This experiment came out pretty well.

About 1 quart Asian pear slices, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
3 tbsp. plus 1 c. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. almond extract
3 large eggs
1 c. light olive oil
1/4 c. orange juice
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. saltpowdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan if it's not a non-stick pan.

1. Bowl #1: Mix apple slices, 3 tbsp sugar, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. Bowl #2: Combine sugar, olive oil, orange juice, and almond extract. Whisk to blend.

3. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and combine.

4. Form a thin layer of batter in the bottom of the Bundt pan.

5. (Optional) Can use any other baking fruit (peach or pear slices) for the bottom fruit layer.

6. Spoon some batter on top of the 1st fruit layer.

7. Fill with Asian pear slices. Put remainder of batter on top.Basically it should be: batter, peach/pear slices, batter, Asian pear slices, batter, etc. until all the batter and fruit is used up.

In a bundt pan, what you put on the bottom will end up at the top when you invert the pan to take the cake out.


Bake cake until top is brown and tester inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 15 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto rack. Cool at least 30 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.