Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line an 8-inch round springform pan with baking paper.
Combine butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes until creamy and smooth.
Add rye flour, almond meal, plain flour, baking powder, mixed spice and salt. Beat briefly for a few seconds until just combined and creamy.
Spoon batter into the prepared cake tin. Arrange pear slices in a circular pattern, fanning out from the center. Sprinkle with some raw sugar and dust the top with cinnamon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 55 minutes until well-risen, cooked through and golden.
Remove from the oven. Cool in the tin for about 20 minutes before removing from the tin and serving warm.
Notes
The pear slices have to be close to paper thin in order to avoid them from sinking in the batter.
Apple can be easily substituted for pear.
Nuttier original version - Substitute plain flour with 1/2 cup toasted and crushed pecan nuts.
Make it gluten-free - Substitute rye flour and plain flour with sorghum flour or chestnut flour or a combination of one of these flours with crushed pecan nuts.
Mixed spice - Mixed spice is a fragrant spice mix used in baking. It has a sweet spicy and warm flavor and consists of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and/or mace, cloves, ginger and coriander. You can substitute with any sweet baking spice mix like apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice or gingerbread spice mix.