Serves 6
(Adapted from the Hay Day Country Market Cookbook)
Ingredients:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1-teaspoon baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup sugar plus 2-teaspoon sugar
2 eggs
1-teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 large ripe pear (unpeeled), rinsed, cored and thinly sliced
2-teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1-teaspoon light brown sugar
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour an 8-inch cake pan; tap out any excess flour.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
In another bowl, cream the butter and ¾ cup of the sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat until smooth. Blend in the vanilla and lemon zest. Add the reserved dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth, thick batter. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared cake pan.
Toss the sliced pears with the lemon juice and brown sugar. Arrange the slices decoratively over the batter, using just enough fruit to cover the batter in a single, overlapping layer. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of white sugar and bake in the middle of the oven until slightly browned around the edges and just set in the middle, about 35 minutes.