Pear Polenta Almond Cake

An overhead of a round almond cake with two slices cut out ready to serve

5 from 4 votes

Pears, polenta, and almonds make a great combination in this one layer tender, moist and fruity polenta almond cake that's down right delicious and so easy!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 10

Total Time1 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 417kcal

Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

Ingredients

For the Cake

Cooking spray my preference is olive oil spray but you can use whatever you have on hand
1 1/2 cup [195 g] yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cup [165 g] almond flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup [180 ml] olive oil
8 oz [113 g] pear baby food in 2 (4 oz) jars
1/2 tsp almond extract or just 1/4 tsp if you just want a whisper
1/2 cup [100 g] granulated sugar

For the Topping

1 large firm pear (any type) cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices (no need to peel)
3 tbsp blanched sliced almonds

For serving

powdered sugar

Instructions

First preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Spray an 8 inch cake pan with cooking spray and set it aside. To make the cake easier to remove later, cut a piece of parchment into a long strip measuring roughly 2 inches [5 cm] wide and 12 inches [30 cm] long. Press it on the bottom of the pan, coat it with a quick spritz of cooking spray, and let the excess stick up so once you pour the batter into the pan and bake it, you'll have two little handles to help you lift the cooled cake out later.
Next, make the cake batter. Place the cornmeal, almond flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk well to combine.
Place the eggs in another large bowl and whisk well. Whisk in the olive oil, pear baby food, almond extract and sugar.
Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture and then transfer the batter to the prepared pan and use a spoon to spread it out so that it's in an even layer.
Then top the cake. Fan the pear slices on top of the batter in a nice pattern, but don't stress about it - it doesn't have to be perfect- just make sure the slices are in an even layer so that they bake evenly (it's okay if they overlap a bit).
Evenly sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.
And bake. Bake until exposed cake bits are dark golden brown and the whole thing looks delicious and a toothpick tests clean (poke in between the pear slices so it does't get soggy), about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Let the cake cool to room temperature, preferably on a wire rack to speed up cooling, and then use those little parchment handles to lift it out and transfer it to a serving dish. Dust lightly with powdered sugar (if using), cut into wedges, and serve at room temperature. Seriously, wait for it to cool. It will crumble too much if you try to slice it while it's warm. Leftovers keep well wrapped in plastic at room temperature for up to a few days.

Notes

This almond cake is super moist and doesn’t dry out very quickly! If stored in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic, polenta cake will keep for 3-4 days. The container should be stored in a cool place, or in the refrigerator. If you need to keep it in the fridge, be sure to remove it about 2 hours before serving, so it can come to room temperature.

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