Recipe courtesy of Amy Chaplin

Gluten-Free Pear and Almond Cake

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 1 hr 5 min
  • Prep: 5 min
  • Inactive: 10 min
  • Cook: 50 min
  • Yield: One 9-inch cake
Here's a cake worth adding to your repertoire: It's super fast to put together, it's gluten- and dairy-free and it can be dressed up or down. The almond meal and pureed pears give the cake a frangipane-like texture. Vanilla, maple syrup and coconut oil add to the irresistible flavor. For dessert, top the cake with some soft-whipped cream, ice cream or warm chocolate sauce. For afternoon or morning tea, the cake is delicious plain, served warm or straight from the fridge.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 12-inch square piece of parchment paper, and press it into a 9-inch round cake pan. (Don't worry about the sides overlapping-this is what creates a rustic edge.) Set aside. 
  2. Process the almond meal, oats, oat flour, rice flour and baking powder in a food processor until the oats are ground. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl; set aside. 
  3. Beat the egg in another medium bowl; set aside. Peel and roughly chop 1 of the pears. Process the chopped pears, coconut oil, maple syrup, maple sugar, vanilla, almond extract and salt in a food processor until smooth; add the mixture to the bowl with the egg, and whisk to combine. Pour the pear-egg mixture into the flour mixture, and stir to combine. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan, and lightly spread it out. 
  4. Working quickly, peel, quarter and core the remaining pear. Cut each quarter into 4 long slices, arrange them in a circle on top of the batter and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Bake the cake until the edges are deep golden and a toothpick comes out clean, 50 minutes. Set aside to cool. 
  5. Drizzle the cake with maple syrup, and serve warm or cool. Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.