Poppy Seed Cake with Caramelized Pears

METHOD FOR CARAMELIZED PEARS

• 1
  Peel the pears, core them, and cut them into small cubes. In a saucepan, heat the butter with sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the pears and cook over medium heat until most of the liquid evaporates (2 to 3 tablespoons should remain), stirring only occasionally and carefully so that the pears do not fall apart too much. Drain the liquid aside and let both cool.

METHOD FOR THE BATTER

• 1
  All ingredients must be at room temperature.
• 2
  Line the bottom of a ∅ 24 cm cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides of the tin with butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
• 3
  Sift the flour together with the baking powder and mix with the poppy seeds. Beat the butter with sugar until creamy (approx. 10 minutes), then beat in the eggs – one by one, until the previous one is well incorporated with the butter. Finally, add the flour with poppy seeds and 2 to 3 tablespoons of pear juice.
• 4
  Pour half of the batter into the tin and spread it evenly. Place the pears on top of the batter and cover them with the other half of the batter.
• 5
  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in an oven preheated to 190°C with a fan. Check if the poppy seed cake is baked by inserting a skewer. Immediately after removing from the oven, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and let it cool on a wire rack.