This French pear cake is moist and tender, packed with fruit, with a crisp, caramelized top.
A French friend introduced me to this recipe 25 years ago in Washington, D.C. I wish I’d found it sooner (yes, that dates me). It’s easy to make and always goes over well with guests. She made hers with apples. I switched to pears for their mellow sweetness. Proof that good recipes travel!
You’ll need very little equipment, a few pantry staples, four or five good-sized pears, and a deep 9-inch baking dish.
And if you’re on vacation without Wi-Fi or cell service, and can’t get to my blog (a terrible thought, I know!), there’s a simple way to remember the batter. It involves counting backward from five. More on that below.
Published on November 6, 2026
PREP TIME
15 min
COOK TIME
45 to 50 min
DIFFICULTY
Easy
STORAGE
3 days
A French pear cake recipe you can remember
In France, this is known as a gâteau 5-4-3-2-1. It’s the kind of cake you carry in your head rather than on a recipe card, a bit like quatre-quarts, the French pound cake (its name means “four quarters”: equal weights of eggs, butter, sugar, and flour). Cakes like these are a classic of the French goûter, the after-school snack, and most of us learned at least one by heart.
This one comes with a built-in memory trick, the numbers in its name: 5 tablespoons flour, 4 sugar, 3 milk, 2 oil, and 1 egg. Add a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon baking powder, and that’s the batter. Most versions are made with apples, just like my friend’s.
Mix everything together and pour it into the baking dish. The batter is very thin, almost liquid, and that’s just how it should be. Then add the peeled fruit, cut into thick wedges, and pack them in snugly. The more tightly they fit, the better the cake.
Which pears should you use?
Any variety will work. Bartlett (called Williams in Europe), Anjou, and Bosc, a firm, brown-skinned pear that holds its shape best, are all good choices. Even pears that aren’t very juicy soften during the fairly long baking time.
This is also a great way to rescue very ripe pears or fruit with a few bruises. Trim away the bruised spots; the pieces don’t need to look pretty. Less ripe pears work too, and I often use a mix of pears and apples in the same cake. You can try other fruits, as long as they don’t release too much juice, which would make the batter soggy.
If you still have apples to use up, my apple butter is another way to put them to good use.
Bake twice for a caramelized top
Bake the cake for 35 minutes at 350°F. While it’s in the oven, melt 7 tablespoons (100 g) of butter (salted works well), then stir in ½ cup (100 g) of sugar, 1 egg, and the vanilla. Pour this mixture over the almost-baked cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, then return it to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. The butter keeps the cake moist, and the sugar caramelizes on the surface.
The traditional recipe calls for 1 packet of vanilla sugar, sprinkled over the topping before the cake goes back into the oven. Vanilla sugar is a pantry staple in France but hard to find here in the U.S., so I make my own (my method is in the recipe card below). When I’ve run out, I stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead. Either way, the vanilla really makes a difference.
Best served at room temperature
As the topping cools, it turns crisp and slightly crackly, so the cake is best at room temperature, rather than piping hot. If you wait too long, the crunch fades, so I like to serve it a couple of hours after baking. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is a nice touch if you feel like it.
The cake stays in its baking dish, so there’s no need to grease it or worry about turning it out. Bring it to the table and serve everyone from there. It travels well, too, whether you’re taking dessert to a friend’s house, a party, or a potluck. For another cake to share, try my lemon poppy seed loaf (in French, a good excuse to practice!).
French Pear Cake
A tender pear cake with a crisp, caramelized top. A simple batter, plenty of fruit, and a buttery topping added partway through baking.
6
servings15
minutes50
minutesPour garder la recette visible pendant que je cuisine
Ingredients
- For the cake
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons neutral oil
1 large egg
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 good-sized pears (Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc) or apples (or more), peeled, cored, and cut into thick wedges
- For the topping
7 tablespoons butter, melted (salted butter works well)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 2 teaspoons French vanilla sugar)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the cake ingredients except the fruit, then pour the batter into a deep, round 9-inch baking dish. It will be very thin, almost liquid; this is normal. No need to grease the dish, since the cake is served straight from it.
- Add the pears, packing them in snugly and pressing them gently into the batter.
- Bake for 35 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the 7 tablespoons (100 g) of butter. Stir in the ½ cup (100 g) of sugar, the egg, and the vanilla extract (if using) until well combined.
- Remove the cake from the oven and immediately pour the butter mixture over the top.
- If using vanilla sugar, sprinkle it over the topping now; it will caramelize during the second bake.
- Return to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown. If you’re using an 8-inch pan, you may need a few extra minutes.
Minute Papillote Tip
- Here is how I make my own vanilla sugar: bury fresh vanilla beans completely in a jar of sugar. They slowly dry out and perfume the sugar, so you’ll need to wait several days before it’s ready. After that, it keeps for weeks, even months. Once dry, the beans still have plenty of flavor, so I lift them out and use them in other desserts. I like to start with fresh beans this way: plump, high-quality beans can be a little moist, and burying them in sugar keeps them from molding and makes them last much longer.
Made It, or Tempted?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this pear cake with apples?
Yes. Apples are actually the most common choice for the French 5-4-3-2-1 cake. You can also use a mix of apples and pears.
What kind of baking dish should I use?
Choose a deep baking dish rather than a shallow tart pan. A round dish about 9 inches across is ideal, and an 8-inch round cake pan works too.
Why is the batter so thin?
How should I store the cake? Can I freeze it?
Keep it in the refrigerator for up to three days, and let it come back to room temperature before serving. I don’t recommend freezing it, as the texture can become too moist after thawing. In my house, it rarely lasts long enough for that to be a question anyway.
More desserts to share
Four more desserts from my kitchen, made for sharing.
Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf (in French)
A tender, moist crumb soaked in lemon syrup, with a little crunch from poppy seeds. Add a thin lemon glaze if you like. Un bon prétexte pour pratiquer votre français !
Stovetop Apple Butter with Brown Butter
Apples slowly cooked until smooth and velvety. Spread it on toast or crêpes, or spoon it over yogurt.
Coconut Flan Without Condensed Milk
A firm coconut flan with a thin, golden coconut crust. Closer in texture to a cake than a custard, with a caramel flavor from brown sugar.
Vanilla Cream Puffs with Craquelin (in French)
Round cream puffs topped with a crisp craquelin layer and filled with a lightened vanilla pastry cream. Fill them just before serving.
