Pear Almond Cake to celebrate my 40th birthday

Here’s the cake I baked to celebrate my 40th birthday. It has everything I love in a cake: it is bursting with fruit, and it has a rustic texture given by almond flour and almond flakes.

Jul 30, 2021

On Tuesday I turned 40. I barely had the time to bake myself a cake, in between skype calls, deadlines, and the first meeting at Livia’s nursery school (how is it possible she is already going to school?). So, I’m sharing this post today, the traditional post with the cake I choose to celebrate my birthday. It is a tradition, a milestone, a way to freeze a memory in time, just like snapping a picture.

We will celebrate tonight with a dinner Tommaso orchestrated in a secret place: I’m just required to be ready and well-dressed by 7.30 pm. Livia will have dinner with her nonni, and we’ll have the second night out since she was born, 11 months ago.

On this day, I also want to write down what I like now, what makes my heart flutter. No space for fears or regrets today. It is time to celebrate, make memories that will last, have good food – possibly cooked by someone else -, wear red lipstick and a headband to tame my short curls.

Read the new post on the blog here.

I thought I also could share this cake as your weekend baking project!

Pear Almond Cake

Here’s the cake I baked to celebrate my 40th birthday. It has everything I love in a cake: it is bursting with fruit, – I chose summer baby pears -, it has a rustic texture given by almond flour and almond flakes, and a subtle lemon scent. And according to Niki Segnit, in her The flavour thesaurus, pear and almond are a natural couple: classy and restrained.

You can easily make this pear almond cake in one bowl, once you have poached the pears in syrup (an extra step that is totally worth it).

I didn’t use spices this time, but you could try with cinnamon, cardamom, or star anise. If you like a crunchy texture, try adding some coarsely chopped walnuts or hazelnuts, or the evergreen chocolate chips.

Find the recipe for this Italian pear almond cake on the blog.

If you decide to participate in the weekend cooking project, share the results with us on social media by using the hashtag #myseasonaltable and tagging @julskitchen on Instagram. It will be a way to shorten the distance in this time of social distancing.

If you have questions about the ingredients or the recipe, if you have a special request for one of the next cooking projects, or if you just want to have a chat, just reply to this email.

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Cooking with an Italian Accent. Second season

We worked on four special episodes for the summer, with guests from all over Italy engaged in conversation about some of our favourite themes, from food to tourism, from cookbooks to personal memories. Each episode will give you the chance to explore an Italian region and will give you tips on how to travel more sustainably to some of the most iconic Italian destinations.

In the first episode, I switched roles and asked our friend Valentina Dainelli, known online as Toomuchtuscany, to be the host of this conversation: I felt it would have been much more interesting for you than listening to a soliloquy.

The occasion is my 40th birthday. We had a little online celebration, and we talked about recipes and cakes, about Livia, about our job. There’s also a little anticipation about the cookbook we’re working on at the moment. Then, we moved to talk about Tuscany and sustainable tourism. I’m sharing my favourite destinations for a quick trip, and a few tips to better enjoy Tuscany.

So, join the conversation, and the celebrations! You can listen to the first episode here.

**A little anticipation for you**

Don’t miss the next episode on Tuesday! As promised, today we’ll have a guest that will guide us through one of the most beautiful Italian regions. This region recently filled your imagination with postcard-like maritime views, bowls of trofie al pesto, and Vespa rides thanks to the latest Disney Pixar movie, Luca.

Yes, I’m talking about Liguria, and our guest will be Enrica Monzani, known online as A small kitchen in Genoa.

Don’t miss our IG Live Talk on Wednesday the 5th of August, 9pm Italian time (I’ll be sharing a countdown on IG so you can mark your calendar for that).

Want more original recipes?

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What you missed this month: Biancomangiare alle pesche, Salento and Matera, our foodie guide, Sicilian swordfish, and eggplant involtini.

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We love Letters From Tuscany as it is like having our own independent publication: we test, photograph, write each recipe just for you. It is a way of sharing great content, recipes that we like, created to inspire you, to bring a little taste of Italy to your kitchen, for you and your family.

Join our online cooking courses

To celebrate my 40th birthday, we have a discount on our Udemy online cooking courses. Just for this weekend, you can buy all our courses for 9,99€ using the promo code HAPPY40 or following the links below.

Happy cooking,

Giulia

Letters from Tuscany