Pear and thyme buckwheat cake

The smell of pear, thyme and buckwheat makes me feel very French, because I imagine it’s the kind of thing you’d find in Provence (not that I’ve ever been there!). The French use buckwheat flour (sarrasin) to make their famous galettes. I found out after creating this recipe that buckwheat is also used to make something similar to this, called butter cake, which is enjoyed as a snack because it’s dense and less sweet than most pâtisserie.

Instead of using egg yolks to bind it together as the French do, I’ve used yoghurt, which I also soak the buckwheat in overnight or for at least a few hours – this helps make it all the more digestible while slightly mellowing the buckwheat flour flavour. In go the delicious fragrant digestive spices of cinnamon and cardamom, then the cake is studded with pears and thyme before being baked. Faintly sweet and nicely filling, this is perfect for breakfast with a cup of tea. For another type of buckwheat cake, try the Buckwheat Banana Bread here.

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Serves 4–6

70g (½ cup) buckwheat flour

60g (¼ cup) homemade yoghurt (see here)

60ml (¼ cup) water

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of fine sea salt

3 tbsp jaggery or maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1½ tsp ground cinnamon

seeds of 3–4 cardamom pods, ground

2 medium, ripe but firm, pears (peeled if the skin is tough), cut into 2cm (¾ in) cubes

butter, for greasing

1 tsp fresh thyme, leaves picked

1 The day before you wish to serve, combine the flour with the yoghurt and water, mix, then cover and leave the batter overnight at room temperature.

2 When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/gas mark 6) and line an 18cm (7in) square tin with baking parchment. Lightly grease the baking parchment.

3 Add the baking powder, salt, jaggery, vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom to the batter. Mix well, then spread out in the lined baking tin.

4 Distribute the pears evenly across the batter, pressing them down lightly so they are just showing. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and firm to the touch.

5 Decorate with small thyme leaves, pushed in gently. Eat hot or leave to cool and cut into squares or rectangles.