Easy Italian Pear Cake Recipe (Torta di Pere)
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Easy Italian Pear Cake Recipe (Torta di Pere), a simple moist dessert, breakfast or served as an afternoon tea cake. Made with creamy yogurt, luscious butter, and fresh pears this cake will soon become a family favorite!
You will also love these easy and simple cakes Chocolate Torte, Simple Italian Apple Cake (one bowl), Italian Crumble Cake Pastry Cream Filling, and my panettone recipe.
Why I love this Italian Pear Cake
Italian desserts are made with simple ingredients. They aren’t too sweet and make the perfect treat without the guilt. You will rarely see frosting or ice cream served with any true Italian cake. No judgments if you add them to this cake!
At most, there is a dusting of powdered sugar or cacao and a dollop of freshly whipped cream. This cake is fluffy, lightly sweetened, and sure to satisfy any sweet tooth craving. It is a simple and moist dessert that can’t be beaten!
Try pairing this with our creamy vanilla sauce or strawberry sauce!
Table of Contents
Simple Ingredients
I recommend using the best quality ingredients for this super simple cake.
- Fresh pears, (I find the best pears are Bosc pears, Anjou pears, or Barlett pears)
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder (not baking soda!)
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Whole milk yogurt
- Melted butter
- Eggs, room temperature
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- freshly whipped heavy cream, if desired
See the recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Pear Cake
If you want step-by-step photos for this fresh pear cake recipe.
A few key steps make this easy Italian pear cake recipe stand out from the rest!
- The first step in this cake recipe is whipping the eggs and sugar until a thick creamy consistency. I do this with an electric or stand mixer. This step creates a light and airy texture in the final product.
- Next, the melted (and cooled) butter adds a luxurious richness to the cake.
- Finally, the yogurt. You will find many Italian cakes with yogurt. When adding yogurt to cakes it adds an extra soft component without weighing it down too much. As a result, yogurt adds moisture and fat in the cake batter, making the cake extra moist. A cake baked with yogurt is never dry. It’s always so soft, moist, and absolutely delicious.
Here is the round 9″ spring form pan I love! BUY THIS ONE .
Variations
The first time you make this recipe try the original recipe! The next time you make it you can try one of these variations.
Cake variations
- Gluten-Free Option – If you are making this simple Italian apple cake gluten-free you can use this flour and it will turn out delicious!
- Low-fat yogurt – low-fat dairy products are often filled with “junk” to stabilize the texture. As long as the brand of non-fat yogurt doesn’t have any fillers it will work fine. One brand I recommend is Chobani nonfat yogurt as an alternative.
- Brown sugar – I love the idea of doing half-brown sugar and white sugar to add a little extra richness. I’ve tried this and it changes the taste a bit, but I like it!
- Sour Cream – you can substitute the same amount of sour cream for yogurt in this recipe.
- Warm Spices – This cake is simple and pure without the addition of any spices (I prefer it this way). If you like try adding cinnamon, cardamon, or allspice.
- Lemon juice – add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to add a zing to the cake and complement the sweetness of the pears.
- Vegetable oil – You can add vegetable oil or any mild flavored oil in place of the butter in this pear cake recipe. You will still achieve a tender crumb. The oil makes the cake a little less dense and airier than when it is made with only butter. I’ve made it both ways and love them both equally!
You will also love these cake recipes: orange olive oil cake, Moist Chocolate Olive Oil Cake, Easy Carrot Cake Recipe, Best Ricotta Cake, and Easy Lemon Yogurt Loaf Cake.
Serving variations
- Try this delicious cake with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
- Add caramel sauce for an extra indulgent twist.
- Make a light cream cheese frosting and spread it over the cooled cake.
- If you want to decorate the cake by adding extra pear slices in a pattern on top of the cake for a pretty presentation.
Any way you make or serve this easy pear cake recipe it is one that everyone is sure to love.
I would recommend fresh pears but if canned pears are what’s available to you then you can absolutely use those instead. Make sure you drain them well as adding extra liquid to baking proportions can throw off the texture or cooking time of the final product.
I like to use a springform pan so it is easy to remove the cake from the pan. You can use a regular 9.5/10-inch round pan as well.
I find the best pears are Bosc pears, Anjou pears, or Barlett pears.
Pears do not need to be peeled before baking or adding to this cake but you can if that is your preference.
What does yogurt do in a cake? Yogurt adds moisture and fat to a cake batter, making the cake moist. A cake baked with yogurt is never dry. It’s always so soft, moist, and absolutely delicious. Another bonus to adding yogurt to cakes is the acidity of the yogurt works with the baking powder to leaven the cake and make it extra tall and super fluffy. You don’t taste the yogurt at all! It simply serves as a secret weapon to add moistness and help your cake rise. Adding yogurt to this cake makes it an extra moist and great recipe!
Storage Instructions
This cake is so delicious that I doubt it will last very long in your house. But, if it does, the best way to store it is on a plate with a covering or in a storage container with a lid at room temperature (checking every day for any signs of mold) or in the fridge.
How to serve Italian pear cake
A little dollop of freshly whipped cream goes a long way and adds the perfect touch. In Italy, we don’t serve whipped cream with cake, but I thought…why not!
After just one bite you’ll be surprised how distinct the flavors are in this pear cake. We love its soft, tender texture, and the chunks of fresh, sweet pear. It’s a cake that will keep you wanting more!
Made with Amore, Elena
Cake pan recommendation
I like to use a springform pan so it is easy to take out the cake. You can use a regular 9.5/10-inch round pan as well. Make sure to let the cake cool completely after baking and before slicing.
It is worth the wait to let the cake set! This cake is even better the next day.
More Delicious Desserts for YOU
Traditional Italian Tiramisù (no alcohol)
Sweet Focaccia with Raspberries and Balsamic Glaze
Easy Almond Sponge Cake with Italian Cream
💙 MADE THIS RECIPE AND LOVED IT? 💙 Please leave a ⭐️STAR rating and COMMENT below- I love connecting with you! Tag me with your creations on Instagram and find me on Pinterest.
Italian Pear Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 large firm ripe pears, or 4 small (Bosc or Barlett), peeled and cut into pieces
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 240 g
- 3 teaspoons baking powder, 14 g
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar, 200 g
- 1 cup whole milk yogurt
- ½ cup butter, 113 g, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 2g
- Confectioner sugar for dusting
- freshly whipped heavy cream, if desired
Instructions
- Line a 9.5-inch round baking pan (springform pan or bundt pan) with parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, whip the sugar and eggs until you obtain a creamy and fluffy texture. You can also use a stand mixer with a large bowl.
- Stir in the yogurt, butter, and vanilla extract. Use a fork or spatula to combine until smooth (not the electric mixer).
- In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Sift the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Stir gently until well combined. Add the pears and mix gently. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If the cake starts to brown too much on the top tent the top with foil during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack. Before serving dust the cake with confectioner sugar. If desired, serve with freshly whipped cream, or ice cream.
Notes
- I like to use a springform pan
- TOP TIP: Use room temperature ingredients. This will make the cake tall and fluffy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
delicious cake! thanks for posting recipe. I took a chilled piece from my refrigerator then spread a layer of the plain yogurt, topped it all off with a drizzle of honey. it was fantastic. so this was yummy plain and warm as well as chilled.
Yum! I love how you served it. It is a tasty cake for any occasion or time of day :).
hmm have you tries soaking pears in a brown sugar simple syrup?
my pears are just pulled off the tree and I’ve never worked with such hard pears an thinking of simmering them..
That sounds delicious! You can also try letting them sit on the counter for a few days, ut that requires time!
First, never heard of an Italian Pear Cake but I’m SO glad I found this recipe! My family receives fruit every month from a thoughtful gift from our aunt, and I had just received pears before heading out town!
I made this recipe and LOVED it. So did my wife – she said “this is what a good cake should taste like”.
I like it a lot because it’s moist, not too sweet, and has a nice soft texture.
Will make again!
I am so happy that now you have heard and MADE our delicious Italian pear cake. Yes, it is exactly as your wife describes. I am so happy you loved it so much and I hope you enjoy for years to come. There are many more delicious recipe to try! Enjoy.
Made this for a dinner with my adult children. It was a great hit and they took the leftover to have with their coffee in the morning!
It was very easy to make.
Yes, this cake leftover is the best- if I ever get any leftovers, ha! I am thrilled everyone loved it.
Super recipe. The cake was still moist and delicious next day.
Made it the second time for my friends. They loved it
Thank you so much for sharing, I love you made it twice in a row. Enjoy!
Made this cake for a staff meeting and couldn’t believe how fast everyone gobbled it up! So easy to make too!!
I love to hear that you brought it to a work function. I am so happy that everyone loved it.
Tender and delicious.
Happy you loved this classic!
Delicious! went with Greek yogurt and cut back the sugar significantly since my pears were so sweet. Next time might even try only 1/3 cup. really moist and easy to make as promised!
YUM! Yes, it is okay to cut back on sugar here! I am happy you loved the recipe.
I don’t usually leave recipe comments but I made this today for the 4th time this summer. It’s incredible as is, so light and moist and not overly sweet. I’ve found the best way to do the pears is to peel, quarter and core, then slice them into thin slices the short way – They blend in perfectly in the batter and you get pear distributed in every bite. We serve it with vanilla ice cream, and it’s also great with whipped cream and powdered sugar as the recipe suggests. I usually have to cook it for an extra 5-10 minutes. Don’t be afraid to let the whole top get a nice golden brown. This is a cake recipe we will keep using forever.
The best complement- I am happy you will add this to your list of “forever recipes” it is one of ours! Try it with peaches :).
This cake is delicious ! Even when done not quite right :). I creamed the sugar and eggs with the butter and the eggs weren’t at room temperature…. A bit a of brain fog today. Will make this again for sure and will try other recipes from your collection. ¡Muchas Gracias Elena!
I am happy it turned out wonderful! Yes, please try many more recipes from my website and please let me know how you love them. Talk soon, Elena!