Paleo Almond Pear Cake – Gluten Free

By ROBandSEAN

Ingredients

• 4 pears, any kind, 3 for batter 1 for topping
• 1 3/4 cups coconut 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

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 85mins

Preparation

Step 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes and then you can remove the sides. Transfer to a serving platter.