Pear Crumb Cake

I remember my Mom making crumb cake when I was a kid. I loved it. It was one of my favorite cakes.  The tender cake, and crunchy topping seemed the perfect combination to me. Even today, I would rather have a crumb topping on a cake than frosting.

This recipe hits all the right notes. Sweet with pear chunks throughout, and the crunchy topping that I love. This is a great dessert for any occasion. I serve it just the way it is, but you could also top with ice cream or whipped cream. If you prefer, you can also make the cake with a mix of pears and apples – just have 2 cups of chopped fruit, in total.

Pear Crumb Cake

For cake batter:

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

½ stick (¼ cup) butter, softened

¾ c. sugar

1 egg

½ c. milk

2 c. peeled, cored and chopped pears

For topping:

½ c. sugar

¼ c. flour

½ t. cinnamon

½ stick (¼ c. butter, chilled and cut into bits)

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and milk. Add flour mixture gradually until just mixed in. Fold in fruit. Grease and flour an 8 or 9-inch pan and add prepared batter. Combine topping ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter in pan and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven and bake for 35-45 minutes. Use toothpick to test.

Note: I used a 9-inch square pan and it worked fine.