New season pears are available now, I used Conference pears for this recipe which is a sort of cross between a cake and a biscuit – it’s spongy and crisp at the same time!

340g/12oz plain flour

55g/2oz hazelnuts – roasted, skins removed and ground

3/4 tsp baking powder

170g/6oz butter

170g/6oz soft light brown sugar

2 large eggs

400g/14oz pears – peeled, cored and cut into pieces.

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp light soft brown sugar

juice of 1 lemon

110g/4oz icing sugar

1. Set the oven to 180C/gas4
2. Grease and line a 20cm/8″ square cake tin with non stick baking parchment.
3. Measure the flour and baking powder into a bowl
4. Melt the butter in a microwave or in a pot on the stove.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar followed by the eggs and beat to combine.  Fold this mixture into the flour.
5. Spoon half of the mixture into the cake tin and level with the back of a spoon.
6. Mix the pear pieces with the cinnamon, 1 tbsp sugar and 1/2 the lemon juice.  Spread over the cake mix in the cake tin.
7. Dot the remaining cake mix over the top of the pears, put into the oven and bake for 45 min.
8. Once the time is up, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.
9. Mix the remaining lemon juice with the icing sugar to form a runny icing.  Once the cake is cool, drizzle the icing over the cake, cut into squares and serve.