Crumb cake with pears

To prepare the pear crumb cake, start with the fruit: rinse the berries under running water 1. Then pat them dry with kitchen paper. Move on to the pears: cut them in half, separate the wider part from the rest of the fruit 2, and peel them to cut into slices about 3/8 inch thick 3.

Transfer the pear slices to a small bowl and sprinkle them with lemon juice 4 to prevent them from browning while you proceed with the rest of the recipe. Cover the pear slices with plastic wrap 5 and chill until ready to assemble the crumb cake. Then move on to the batter: in a bowl, add the softened butter in pieces and add the sugar 6,

Beat the ingredients with an electric mixer 7 or stand mixer to obtain a soft and homogeneous cream. Take the vanilla bean, split it open, and scrape out the seeds 8 to add to the batter 9 (you can alternatively use a teaspoon of vanilla extract or a packet of vanilla powder).

Continue by adding the eggs to the batter: first, the 3 whole eggs 10 one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated, then adding the yolk 11. Work the ingredients until you obtain a homogeneous cream 12.

Finally, add the sifted flour and baking powder 13. Mix everything with a spatula 14 until you get a consistency similar to that of a donut batter. Then grease a 8x12-inch pan using a pastry brush 15.

Then line it with parchment paper 16 (you can also refer to the Cooking School: how to line a pan with parchment paper). Start pouring the batter into the pan 17, leveling it little by little with the back of a spoon slightly moistened with water, until the batter is used up 18.

Now you can add the pears drained from the lemon juice, arranging them evenly over the entire surface of the batter 19. Then add the berries 20, distributing them evenly 21. Keep the cake chilled and proceed to prepare the crumble.

In a small bowl, add the very cold butter, the brown sugar 22, the sifted all-purpose flour 23, and the almond flour 24 (you can also finely grind almonds in a mixer and add them to the mixture, or replace the almond flour with the same amount of coconut flour).

Also, add two generous pinches of salt 25. Then grate the lime zest directly into the bowl 26 and quickly mix everything with your fingertips 27.

Now that you have obtained the crumble 28, sprinkle it over the cake 29 and bake in a preheated static oven at 350°F for about 60 minutes (320°F for 50-55 minutes if using a convection oven). When the crumb layer is slightly golden 30, your pear crumb cake will be ready to be taken out and enjoyed. The best way to serve the crumb cake is to cut it into cubes in the same pan!