Almond Pear Cake – Gluten Free

Almond Pear Cake

My favorite time of the year is the end of September when summertime evaporates into a fond memory and leaves turn golden and the air turns crisp.  Oh wait, that was my former life growing up on the east coast.  As Jimmy Kimmel said in his monologue last night referring to the autumn in Los Angeles; that it was a “bone-chilling 95 degrees today”. He went on to say, “that we have one season…and it’s the good one!”  I’ll be honest with you, since moving to the west coast I definitely do not miss the other three seasons, but I do have a major hankering for the fall. After residing here for three decades I still bring out the heavy sweaters and boots this time of year, and yeah, I’m sweating profusely in my effort to embrace the season.

It’s time to say good bye to the summertime fruity favorites; strawberries, blueberries, peaches and plums and hello to cranberries, apples, pumpkins and pears. I do love the latter as they harken the start of the holiday season, and all the celebratory family meals ahead of me.

My personal favorite fall fruit is pears. In this gluten-free cake, they are paired with almond meal, sliced almonds and fresh pear puree which results in an overly moist and flavorful cake. I think this Almond Pear Cake will become one of your go-to desserts for the upcoming season.

Almond Pear Cake

Almond Pear Cake – Gluten Free

From USA Pears

Equipment needed:  10″ spring form pan, large food processor or electric mixer

• 4 pears, any kind, 3 for batter 1 for topping
• 1 3/4 cups sugar plus additional 3 teaspoons
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 1/4 cups ground almond meal
• 8 large eggs, room temp
• 1 teaspoon, plus additional 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon neutral tasting oil (like canola or grape seed)
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and place the rack in the center position. Spray a 10″ spring form pan with cooking spray. PAM original cooking spray is gluten free, however PAM Spray for Baking is not.  Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit on the bottom of the spring form pan.
2. For my cake, I used  Bartlett, Anjou and Bosc pears, but any firm ripe pear will work.  Peel and core the three pears and then roughly chop them. Place the chopped pears into a small saucepan and add the lemon juice and 3 teaspoons of sugar. Cook the pears over medium heat in the covered pan for 10 minutes. Let cool. When cooled, mash the pears with a fork into a coarse puree.
3. Place the almond meal and 1 3/4 cups sugar in the bowl of a large food processor, and give it 5-6 long pulses. (This makes a large quantity of batter, so you’ll need a large food processor, not the mini kind). Add the eggs one at a time, along with 1 teaspoon of vanilla and the pear puree. Pulse until all ingredients are incorporated. Alternately, if you don’t have a food processor, you can use an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Pour the batter into the spring form pan.
4. Next, peel and core the fourth pear and slice it into 1/4″ slices. In a medium skillet, heat the oil and the honey stirring until the mixture begins to bubble. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla. Add the pear slices and toss gently to coat.
5. Sprinkle the almonds over the top of the cake, and add the pear slices in a pinwheel shape. Spoon the remaining sauce in the pan over the top of the cake. Bake for 55-65 minutes until the cake begins to brown and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. As my cake was starting to brown too much, I placed some foil over the top for the last 10 minutes of baking. Keep in mind that all ovens are different so the baking time is an estimate.
6. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes and then you can remove the sides. Transfer to a serving platter.

Almond Pear Cake

Mama’s Tips:

An easy way to cleanly remove the core of the pear is to use a melon baller to scoop out the center.

For this Almond Pear Cake you can use any variety or combination of pears you like. In the past, I have used Anjou, Bartlett, Bosc and Comice pears. Just make sure they are ripe yet firm.

Almond Pear Cake

Pears, Pears…

Almond Pear Cake

…and more Pears.

Recipe: Intermediate