This Torta Rustica di Pere, or Rustic Pear Cake, is a simple Italian dessert that celebrates ripe pears. Moist, golden, and delicately scented with vanilla, it's perfect for cozy fall baking. Serve it with coffee or as an elegant yet effortless dessert.
If you like this recipe, you may also like my Apple Cider Donut Cake or my Cranberry Apple Cake.
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If you're looking for the best pear cake recipe, this classic Italian pear cake is it.
Soft. Moist. Not overly sweet. And packed with fresh sliced pears that melt beautifully into the batter as it bakes.
In Italy, this cake is called Torta di Pera. It's simple, rustic, and the kind of dessert you'll find on a kitchen counter, ready to slice with coffee in the afternoon. No frosting. No complicated steps. Just fresh pears and a tender crumb.
If you have ripe pears on your counter, this is the dessert to make.
Why This Is the Best Italian Pear Cake Recipe
- Uses fresh pears
- Simple pantry ingredients
- One bowl batter
- Perfectly moist texture
- Lightly sweet and not heavy
- Great for breakfast or dessert
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup whole milk (almond, rice, or coconut milk also work)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 small pears, firm but ripe, cored and cut lengthwise into quarters
- 1 to 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
- Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
How to make this Italian Pear Cake
1. Preheat and prepare pan
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Lightly grease and flour an 8 or 9 inch springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Cook the pears
In a medium skillet over medium high heat, add the pears. Cook for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden.
Stir in:
- 1 tablespoon of the light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cook another minute until slightly caramelized. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. Mix dry ingredients
In a bowl, whisk together:
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Sea salt
- Remaining cinnamon
Set aside.
4. Mix wet ingredients
In another bowl, whisk together:
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- Egg
- Oil
- Milk
- Vanilla
Mix until smooth.
5. Combine
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl while mixing. Mix just until combined.
6. Assemble
Spoon about three quarters of the batter into the prepared pan.
Scatter the pears evenly on top.
Spoon the remaining batter over the pears, allowing some pears to peek through.
Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
7. Bake
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool
Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
And then it was finally the moment we all were waiting for: a slice of this gorgeous rustic pear cake.
This cake is pretty simple and straightforward. Perfect for an afternoon merenda (snack). You could switch the pears for plums or apples if you prefer.
Some other cake recipes to enjoy:
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Rustic Pear Cake (Torta Rustica di Pere)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ cup light brown sugar plus one teaspoon
- 1 egg at room temperature
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup whole milk you could use almond, rice, or coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 firm but ripe small pears cored and cut lengthwise into quarters (see notes)
- 1-2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease and dust with flour a line an 8 or 9-inch spring form pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pears and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the sugar, egg, oil, milk and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl while mixing. Spoon in three quarters of the mix into the base of cake pan-. Scatter the pears on top. Spoon on the rest of the batter and let some of the pears peek through. Sprinkle on some some turbinado sugar and bake
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan. Dust with confectioner's sugar.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Notes
-
- Pear measurement: This recipe uses 6 small pears, which equals 3¾ cups of sliced pears, or about 520 g of pears after coring.
- If you can't find small pears, you can substitute 4 medium pears to reach the same amount.
- Choose firm but ripe pears so they hold their shape while cooking and don't turn mushy in the cake.
- Brown the pears properly. Let them turn lightly golden before adding sugar and cinnamon for deeper flavor.
- Do not overmix the batter. Fold gently and stop as soon as the flour disappears to keep the cake tender.
- Let some pears peek through the top layer of batter for a rustic look and better texture.
- Use an 8 inch pan for a taller cake or a 9 inch pan for a slightly thinner cake that bakes faster.
- Check doneness by inserting a skewer into the center, avoiding large pear pieces. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool 15 to 20 minutes before removing from the pan so the crumb sets properly.
- Add lemon zest or a pinch of nutmeg for extra depth without overpowering the pears.
Beautiful fall cake!! I love anything with pears so I know I would love this cake!
pretty cake! U am having the same terrible trouble with light in Seattle. But all the sudden sunset is happening around 3:45-4pm, its crazy!
The best light is gone here too, sniff, sniff. So glad your mom is back home and can help you. It was so great getting to meet her, hoping you come next year too. It's lots of fun. Hope you have a great weekend, say hi to mom for me.
-Gina-
I am thinking olive oil would probably work well here, like you did with that lucious lemon cake this summer 🙂 I may have to try it. My mother-in-law is coming Friday, there are pears at the farm, and well...yum! 🙂 Ooohh...and I do have some pear liqueur I could probably throw a bit in when I cook the pears...Speaking of which...what do you cook the pears in? A skillet yes, but with some butter, water?
Your mom DOES rock! And you definitely got some gorgeous photos...this is one wonderful cake. I don't think parsnip cake would go over well here, either 🙂 Have a great weekend, Lora!
I would really rather have pear cake than parsnip cake, but I think you could probably make one I would love! This luscious, moist, flavorful cake would even have me eating pears. But JP LOVES pears and LOVES these kind of cakes. Perfect!
Ohhh ...Sembra delizioso! It looks good, thanks Lora for this WoNdErFuL recipe!
Hugs
I love the idea of both parsnip and pear cake....I am very intrigued by the parsnip version 🙂
What a lovely cake! It sounds like everyone was waiting for a taste and I can't blame them one bit. It looks positively delicious. I don't bake with pears often enough - apple and pumpkin are my favorites. xoxo
A torta guszta,de biztos finom is,nekem tetszik!Megpróbálom a receptet leírni,de a fordítás nagyon rossz!!!
This is beautiful, that texture looks to-die-for. Delicious and perfectly seasonal!
My mother in-law made a rutabaga cake once - she had mixed up her ingredients for the meal - the whole family tell that story. I think I'd stick with your pear cake - and always love the rustic!
Lovely recipe and photos. sun is alos in short supply in Vermont this time of the year.
That's beautiful. Have to love pear season!
Bon Appetit Desserts has a parsnip spice cake with a ginger cream cheese frosting that always makes me happy 🙂
This looks so delicious. I have apples on hand and can't wait to try this. Crave worthy!
this is so lovely, thick and rich...love
We've been having the same trouble here - all rain, no light. Your photos are still delightful though!
Oh this looks sooo good! I need to make this! I haven't had a good pear yet, so must go and search for them...and then drown them in cake!
looks terrific one of my favorites, quick and perfect for the holiday! Not too sweet the way i like it! The only difference in mine is a small amount of baking soda to!
Your pear cake looks delicious! I agree, getting light to take photos is tough this time of year, especially since we lost an hour of daylight. Lots of baking will be in order now so that photos can be done early in the day.;-)