I first came across photos of the Gateau Invisible (Invisible Cake) on Federica Di Marcello’s beautiful Instagram account and immediately asked her if she had a recipe for it. She directed me to her blog and after a quick google translate I had a recipe for the apple cake and could go ahead and bake it.

Gateau Invisible

The cake is clearly not invisible but rather refers to the all the layers of fruit with hardly any cake batter holding it all together, ending with a cake of just layers upon layers of apples. And therefor the name Gateau Invisible.  I have only seen it made with apples but since we are in autumn decided to use pears and it turned out just great.

Gateau Invisible

The batter is like a thin crepe batter into which you mix all the pear slices, then spoon into a cake tin and bake for close to an hour. I added a whole lot of spices to the batter for more flavour and topped the cake with some flaked almonds for a bit of added texture. The cake is delicious and not overly sweet with most of the sweetness coming from the pears.  So it is a great dessert or treat for those who do not like very sweet desserts.

Gateau Invisible

The easiest way of slicing the pears is to use a mandolin but you can also take a short cut (like a did) and pass them through the slicer of a food processor. The slices won’t be as uniform as using a mandolin but it does save a bit of time. Serve the gateau as is or with some cream or a splash of custard. I think a spoon of ice cream will be delicious as well. Enjoy!

Gateau Invisible

Gateau Invisible

Ingredients
  

  • 700 g Beurre Bosc pears approx 6
  • 80 g cake flour
  • 12 g of baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 45 g dark Demerara sugar
  • 25 g butter melted
  • ½ tsp almond extract optional
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100 ml of milk
  • 50 g almond flakes

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
  • Grease and line a 20cm square loose bottomed cake tin or 22cm round loose bottomed cake tin
  • Sift the flour with baking powder, spices and salt
  • Whisk the eggs and sugar for about 5 minutes until thick and foamy
  • Add the melted butter and mix
  • Add the flour, alternating with milk to the eggs, stirring by hand and taking care not to over mix
  • Set the batter aside and prepare the pears by cutting into quarters and removing the core
  • Slice the pears very thinly, using a mandolin or food processor slicer
  • Add the pears to the batter immediately to prevent discolouration and mix well to cover all the pears
  • Spoon the mixture into the greased cake tin and level the top
  • Sprinkle with the almond flakes and bake for about 50-55 minutes, until lightly browned and a inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  • Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the tin and serve

Here are a few more of my favourite fruit desserts :

Spiced Pear Cake

Spiced Pear Cake

Clementine Almond Cakes

Roasted Plum Pavlova

Roasted Plum Pavlova - heinstirred.com

Caramel Poached Clementines

Caramel Poached Clementines

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