Ingredients

Abate pears 400 g (I use an arbitrarily large amount of 3-4 pears… the more the merrier). They must be nicely ripe and soft.
Cow’s milk ricotta 375 g (exact amount doesn’t matter)
Flour 250 g
Baking powder 16 g
Medium eggs 3 (surprisingly, I made it without eggs in the past and it tastes very similar!)
Sugar 140 g
Lemon zest of 1/2 lemon
Vanilla pod 1 or capful of vanilla essence

Preparation
Start by cutting the pears in cubes around 1 by 1 cm. No need to be anal about size. Remember to remove the core. I personally don’t mind leaving the skin on. Place the cubes in a bowl with a small amount of lemon juice to prevent them from oxidising.

Beat the sugar with the ricotta with a whisk. Then add the seeds from the vanilla pod (or, more realistically, add a teaspoon of good-quality vanilla extract). Next, add the 3 eggs one by one, continuing to whisk the mixture. Add the grated lemon zest.

Sift the flour with the baking powder and add them to the mixture, mixing until a smooth dough forms. Incorporate the diced pears into the mixture.

Butter and flour a 24cm diameter springform cake pan well. Pour the cake mixture into the pan and level it using a spatula.

Bake the cake at 180°C (static oven) for 50/70 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out dry. If the cake darkens too much on the surface during cooking, cover it with aluminum foil and/or pour a little bit of water at the bottom of the oven to produce some steam. I prefer it not dark on the top.

Remove the soft ricotta and pear cake from the oven, allow it to cool, then turn it out. Enjoy! As a dessert, it goes great served warm with a bit of vanilla ice-cream on the side. As an afternoon tea cake, have it at room temperature or cold on its own

PS: I recommend storing it in the fridge both for taste and durability.