Recipe: Pear and Apple Maple Cake

This simple, moist cake is perfect for afternoon tea or weekend mornings. The apples and pears are doused in cinnamon sugar to add complexity. You can cut the fruit any way you want, but thin slices give a more elegant appearance. Feel free to use honey instead of maple syrup or use just one type of fruit.

Pear and Apple Maple Cake
6 servings

Vegetable oil or melted butter, for greasing
2 small Granny Smith or Pink Lady apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 Bartlett pears, peeled, cord and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
8 Tbsp. sugar, divided
½ cup (1 stick) room-temperature butter
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs, separated
1¼ cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
Cinnamon, to taste
¼ cup honey (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a 9-inch round pie or cake pan with parchment paper, coating the sides and edges with the oil.

• In a large bowl, toss the apples and pears in the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside.

• Use an electric beater on high speed to beat the butter with the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar and maple syrup until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until combined.

• Use a spatula to fold in the flour, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt; the mixture will be very thick. Set aside.

• In a separate bowl, use an electric beater on high speed to whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Use a spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter until combined.

• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place the slices of fruit atop the batter in your desired arrangement; do not press down. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.

• Bake about 25 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out mostly clean or with crumbs attached. Let cool completely before serving.

• If desired, make a honey glaze. In a microwave-safe dish, heat the honey with salt to taste, until smooth and runny, about 15 seconds. Drizzle the honey over the cake and use silicone brush to spread evenly.

• The cake will keep at room temperature up to 3 days or frozen up to 1 month.

Amrita Song is a longtime contributor to Sauce Magazine who blogs at A Song In Motion.