What to do with a bounty of pears?

Sweets are not usually my thing but a few years ago my dear friend Kim made for me this amazingly moist & delicious pear cake based on a recipe from Clotilde Dusoulier, author of Chocolate & Zucchini.  

This year, after many unproductive years, my pear tree suddenly produced a bounty of big beautiful pears so I decided to try my hand at duplicating Kim's cake.  Piece of cake, so to speak.  If you want to go over the top, serve it with Chantilly whipped cream.  

Gâteau de Mamy à la Poire

- 125g (1 stick plus 1 Tbsp) salted butter
- 4 large pears or 6 small ones (substitute apples, apricots, plums...)
- 150g (3/4 C) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 60g (1/2 C) all-purpose flour
- 20g (2 tablespoons) ground almonds
- Half of an envelope (1 1/2 tsp) baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Melt the butter in a small bowl and set aside to cool. Butter a non-stick 8-inch cake pan.

Wash, peel and cut up the pears. Lay the pieces of fruit at the bottom of the pan.

In a food processor or a medium mixing-bowl, blend the sugar with the eggs until the mixture whitens slightly. Add in the flour, almond powder and baking powder, and blend well. Pour in the butter, and blend again. Pour the batter evenly over the fruit, and put into the oven to bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Let the cake settle on a cooling rack for a few minutes. Invert it on a plate (the fruit side will be on top). If any bit of fruit has stuck to the bottom of the pan, simply scrape them and place them back where they belong on the cake. Use a second plate to invert the cake again (the fruit side will then be at the bottom). Let cool and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.