Moist and quite dense, this cake is not too sweet and has a flavour reminiscent of poppy seeds.
Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). In a food processor mix ¾ of a cup of sugar, ¼ of a cup of brown sugar, 100g (3½ oz) of butter and 3 large eggs. Add 485g (17 oz) of hazelnut meal, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and ½ a cup each of milk and light sour cream. Peel, core and quarter 2-3 pears. Cut each quarter into wedges, but not all the way through, so that you can fan each piece. Spread the batter into a prepared cake tin of your choice and place the fanned pears onto the batter, sprinkling with a little brown sugar. Bake for 1 hour, or until the cake tests clean. Meanwhile, quarter more pears and place them in an oven dish with ½ a cup of white wine, a teaspoon of vanilla, a few tablespoons of brown sugar and some butter and bake in the oven while the cake is baking. Serve the cake with the pears and cream or ice cream.
michelle picker cooks 
Will try this for the weekend…our friend is gluten free and we are spending the weekend with them.this will be a nice change from the orange almond cake.