Gluten-Free Fun
Over winter break my family made plans with two friends of the family to have dinner at our house. I couldn’t wait – anytime we have dinner guests over it means one thing: dessert experimentation time. I was figuring out what dessert to make a few days before the dinner when I received an email about our friends’ dietary restrictions.
No dairy, no gluten. My hopes for a wonderful dessert were shattered. As an amateur baker (baking enthusiast, perhaps?), I rely extremely heavily upon good ‘ol flour.
Soon, however, I pulled myself together and began searching for a dessert that would satisfy both criteria. After about half an hour of searching, I finally found it: Gluten free pear almond cake. I’d been replacing flour/bread crumbs with ground almonds on breaded chicken for months by that point, so this was the logical next step…Anyway, although it took 15 minutes longer to bake than the recipe said it would, this cake is good. Damn good. So good in fact, that you won’t miss the flour. Not one bit.
Gluten Free Pear Almond Cake
From Simply Gluten-Free
Servings: 12
Ingredients
4 ripe but firm Pears – use divided
1¾ cups plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar – use divided
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
3¼ cups finely ground blanched almond meal
8 large eggs
1¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract – use divided
1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon grapeseed (or other neutral tasting) oil
½ cup sliced almonds
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9 or 10 inch springform pan with gluten-free non-stick cooking spray. Cut a circle of parchment to fit the bottom of the pan, place in the pan and spray it lightly with more cooking spray.
Peel and core the pears. Chop three of the pears roughly and slice the fourth into about ¼ inch slices. Take the chopped pears and put in a small, microwavable bowl with the lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Cover and microwave on high power for 4 minutes. (Alternatively you can cook on the stove for 10 minutes over medium heat in a covered saucepan.) Mash the pears into a coarse puree with a fork or wooden spoon. Let cool.
Put the almond meal and 1¾ cups of sugar in a food processor and give it 4 or 5 long pulses. Add the eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and the cooked pears and puree the mixture. Pour into the prepared pan.
In a small skillet, heat the agave or honey with the oil, stirring to mix until the mixture starts to bubble. Take off the heat and stir in the remaining ¼ teaspoon of vanilla. Add the pear slices and toss gently to coat.
Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top of the cake. Add the pear slices in a spoke configuration and spoon the agave or honey/oil mixture over the top of the cake.
Bake for 45 – 55 minutes or until the cake is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check the cake after about 35 minutes, if it browning too much, place a piece of foil over the top.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes then remove the sides of the pan and transfer to a serving platter (removing the parchment is optional but recommended). The cake is best served slightly warm.
-AJ Winkelman