The Perfect Passover Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a 9-inch round springform cake pan with parchment paper; set aside.

In a bowl, stir together the chopped almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon and chocolate chips; set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl. With an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat eggs until well combined and bubbly, about 1 minute. Add sugar, beating until mixture is pale yellow and billowy, 2 to 3 minutes. With the still beaters on, slowly pour in the oil, followed by vanilla, beating until combined. Use a spatula to gently fold the almond flour mixture into wet batter until just combined.

Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. (It will probably seem like too little batter at this point, but it swells in the oven.) Top evenly with half of pears, followed by half of the almond-chocolate mixture. Add remaining batter, using a spatula to smooth. Sprinkle with remaining pears and almond-chocolate mixture.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. If the top of the cake is browning too quickly, drape it loosely with aluminum foil. Remove cake from oven and set pan on a wire rack. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.