Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 60 mins

Ingredients

• 200g sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 220g Harris Farm self-raising flour
• 50g Harris Farm blanched almond meal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 190g dairy-free milk
• 125g olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract, or to taste

To Decorate

• 1-2 Corella pears
• 30g flaked almonds, or as needed

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (conventional oven) or 160°C (fan oven). Line a 20cm cake pan with baking paper or grease generously.

2. Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release its essential oils. The mixture is ready when it’s fragrant and the sugar is a pale yellow colour.

3. Add the flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt. Mix until well combined.

4. Add the milk, oil, vanilla, and almond extract and mix until just combined. Initially, the batter will be a little thick but it'll soften after a few minutes. Pour the batter into your cake pan.

5. Cut the pears in halves, remove the core and cut off the tops and bottoms. Cut the pears into 3mm slices.

6. Fan out the pear slices and arrange them on your cake. Sprinkle the flaked almonds in the gaps of the cake.

7. Bake the cake for 60-65 minutes. The cake is ready when you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out with a few moist crumbs (note).

8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes then remove. If desired, dust the top with icing sugar, then serve.

Note: If your oven has a strong top heating element, your cake may brown quickly on top. If so, cover your cake pan with aluminium foil during baking.