Gluten-Free Pear Cake With Pear Cream
A healthy treat for a lovely autumn evening.
Equipment
- A silicone bread or cake pan. A metal one works as well. Details in the recipe.
- A blender or an immersion blender,
Ingredients
Ingredients For The Cake:
- 2-4 ripe pears Use four if they are on the small side. You need about 350 grams cored pears.
- A handful whole almonds
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 4 tablespoons date sugar, honey, or sweetener of your choice
- 1 ½ cups oat flour That is 1 ½ cups rolled oats ground to flour in a blender or about 130 grams
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Ingredients For The Pear Cashew Cream:
- About 150 grams peeled and cored fully ripened pears. Weigh after the pears have been peeled and cored. 2 to 4 pears depending on their size.
- About 1/2 cup raw cashew nuts
- 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup or sweetener of your choice optional, depends on the ripeness of the pear
- Unsweetened almond milk, if needed This also depends on how ripe your pears are.
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Ingredients For The Oat Cream:
- About 150 grams peeled and cored fully ripened pears. Weigh after the pears have been peeled and cored. 2 to 4 pears depending on their size
- 3/4 to 1 tablespoon maple syrup or sweetener of your choice
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 to 3 tablespoons rolled oats
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Turn on the oven and set it to 200º C / 400º F.
- Wash the pears and quarter them lengthwise. Remove the core and chop the pears into chunks.
- Chop the almonds as well. The size is not that important so do what feels right for you - as long as you don't grind them. My preference is chunky bits which add a lovely texture.
- Using a blender or an immersion blender, blend the chia seeds with the water until you get a smooth paste. Transfer to a large-ish bowl and mix in the oil, milk, and date sugar. Set aside.
- In a smaller bowl, mix the oat flour with the baking powder and the cardamom; then add that to the liquid ingredients. Mix well before adding the chopped pears and the almonds. Stir to mix it well and then pour the batter into a silicone bread or cake pan. If you do not have a silicone bread pan a metal one will work just fine, but you will need to either oil it well or line it with baking paper or you'll risk it sticking to the pan.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a pin or knife inserted comes out clean.
To make the pear cashew cream:
- Soak the cashew nuts in boiling water for at least 20 minutes.
- Dice the peeled and cored pears and add them to a pot along with about 1/2 cup of water and bring to a low boil. Simmer until soft, about 8 - 10 minutes. Set aside to cool in the liquid.
- Using a blender (or an immersion blender), blend the drained nuts with the pears and their cooking liquid, maple syrup, if using, and vanilla until you get a nice creamy texture. Depending on how ripe your pears are you may or may not need to add almond milk. If you prefer a thinner cream simply add a little (more) unsweetened almond milk. Taste and adjust flavors if needed. We all have a different idea of what sweet is so be sure to taste it before serving. Transfer to the fridge until ready to use.
To make the pear oat cream:
- Dice the peeled and cored pears and add them to a pot along with about 1/2 cup of water and bring to a low boil. Simmer until soft, about 8 - 10 minutes. Set aside to cool in the liquid.
- Using a blender (or an immersion blender), blend the pears and their cooking liquid with all the other ingredients until you get a nice creamy texture. If you prefer it thinner simply add a bit more milk (see note below). Taste and adjust flavors if needed. We all have a different idea of what sweet is so be sure to taste it before serving. Transfer to the fridge until ready to use.
- Note: The oat cream will thicken up a little once refrigerated so don't make it too thick to start with.