I found some great pears on Ninth Street the other day, so with Thanksgiving nigh upon us, I decided to bake a traditional pear cake. Well, I’m sure it’s a tradition somewhere.

The recipe calls for peeled pears, but I don’t bother as I don’t notice the peels once they’re baked. Also, I like to toast the pecans lightly before chopping; just place them in a pan over medium heat and stir or shake frequently for a few minutes, being careful not to burn them.

Ingredients

4 cups peeled, cored, and chopped pears
2 cups white sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves
4 egg whites
2⁄3 cup canola oil
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1 Combine the pears and the sugar and let stand for one hour. Don’t omit this step as this brings out the liquid from the pears; very important!

2 Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a 10 inch bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.

3 Slightly beat the egg whites and combine them with the oil, chopped pecans, and pear mixture.

4 Stir the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir in the pear mixture. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan.

5 Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from oven ant let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing form pan.