ALMOND AND PEAR CAKE (GLUTEN-FREE)
Extremely light and soft, this Flourless Pear and Almond Cake with almond crunch topping is a delicious dessert. This naturally gluten-free Pear Cake makes a great Autumn and Winter dessert to enjoy with your afternoon tea or serve as a dinner party dessert.
Author: Abakingjourney/Photo credit to abakingjourney.com
Ingredients
- 2 Pears
- 3 Eggs
- 50 gr (1/4 cup) Caster Sugar - or white sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 90 ml (1/3 cup) Canola Oil - or Neutral Cooking Vegetable Oil
- 90 ml (1/3 cup) Heavy /Thickened Cream - or a dairy-free cream if required
- 200 gr (2 Cups) Almond Meal - or Almond Flour
- 1 pinch Salt
- Flaked Almonds, to taste - optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven on 160'C/325'F. Grease a 9inch/22cm Springform Pan and/or line the bottom with baking paper.
- Peal, core and cut each Pears into 8 slices. Set aside.
- Separate the Egg Yolks and Whites. Place the Whites in the bowl of your stand mixer (1) and set aside. Place the Yolks in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the Caster Sugar to the Yolks and whisk for about a minute. It should start to look pale and bubbly.
- Pour in the Wet Ingredients: Vanilla Extract, Canola Oil and Cream. Whisk until combined.
- Stir in the Almond Meal and quickly mix (2). Set aside.
- Add the Salt to the Egg Whites and whip until you reach stiff peaks - about 5 minutes on a medium/high speed.
- With a spatula, gently fold about a quarter to a third of the Whipped Egg Whites into the cake batter (3). Add the rest of the Egg Whites in 2 or 3 times, gently folding it into the batter. Don't overwork the batter or it will deflate the egg whites.
- Pour the cake batter into the grease/lined Springform Pan.
- Arrange the sliced Pears over the cake Batter.
- Optional: sprinkle some Flaked Almonds over the cake.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool down completely before removing from the pan.
- Optional: sprinkle with a little bit of Icing Sugar before serving.
