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Gluten-Free Pear and Almond Cake makes the most of this season’s fresh pears. Deliciously moist, delicately flavoured and easy to make. This pear cake recipe is made with your favourite gluten-free flour, almond flour (ground almonds in UK) and needs no xanthan gum for a perfect structure and wonderful taste.
Our pear trees have been bountiful with fruit recently and unlike last year when we lost most of our pears to the wasps we don’t seem to have been plagued this year.
We have been enjoying our pears straight from the tree but we have also been living our best pear life making delicious pear crumbles, pear jam and of course – this lovely Almond Flour Pear Cake.
I urge you to give this simple yet very flavourful gluten-free pear cake a try. It will be a great addition to your afternoon tea.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- If you love Old-Fashioned Pear Cake then this is a lovely homely version.
- Delicate sweet pear flavour and lovely balanced almond taste.
- Deliciously moist pear cake.
- This great cake is so easy to make.
- Simple gluten-free cake with easy to find ingredients.
- No xanthan gum. READ MORE >>> Why I don’t bake with xanthan gum.
Watch the video to see how to make it
What pears do you use for baking?
I used the pears grown in my garden which I believe are Comice pears (that's what they look like when I googled it anyway).
However, you can use any variety of pear you wish. As long as you make sure that your pear is perfectly ripened – so not soft and squishy but relatively firm (You should be able to peel it easily).
Concord, Comice, Williams or Conference Pears all work well.
✨What to do with a lot of pears.. If you have been inundated with pears from yours or a friend's tree this year then I have a perfect recipe to help you make the most of your haul. This gorgeously sweet and fragrant Pear Jam. It's a really special jam which includes cobnuts (a bit like hazelnuts) for texture - you can make it with or without the nuts.✨
Full list of ingredients needed
Fresh pears. I recommend firm ripe pears as you don't want them to be crunchy but also not too juicy as otherwise it can add too much liquid to the cake.
Fresh lemon juice. This helps keep the pears from discolouring.
Tapioca starch (tapioca flour). This flour is not used in the flour blend but is used to coat the diced pear which helps absorb any excess juice and keeps the pear suspended evenly throughout the cake. READ MORE >>> Ultimate Guide to Tapioca Starch
Almond flour. You are looking for blanched ground almonds. There is a bit of labelling confusion over almond flour which is sold as ‘ground almonds’ in most major UK supermarkets and found in the baking aisle. If you want to know what exactly you are looking for then check out this post >>> Is Almond Flour The Same As Ground Almonds. This cake can be made with finely ground almond meal too. The almonds add stability and moistness to the recipe.
Gluten-free flour. This Gluten-Free Pear Cake is made with your favourite blend of gluten-free all purpose flour. It is a relatively forgiving recipe as the amount of ground almonds in the cake helps with the structure and texture. And by the way, you don’t need to add any xanthan gum but if your blend already contains it then that’s fine too. Just make sure your blend has a good ratio of wholegrain to starchy flours – most branded gluten-free flours will work well. I tested this recipe using Doves Farm Gluten-Free Plain White Flour and also my Gluten-Free Homemade Flour Blend. Both gave good results.
Baking powder. A leaving agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.
Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.
Ground nutmeg. This spice gives a lovely deep flavour.
Caster sugar. It’s a fine white baking sugar available in the UK. Regular white granulated sugar can be substituted. Sugar helps with the structure of the cake and helps gives lightness by the creaming process with the butter.
Unsalted Butter. We need unsalted so we can control the salt content of the recipe. Make sure it is at room temperature.
Olive oil. We use butter and olive oil in this gluten-free pear cake. The butter is used at room temperature and creamed with the sugar to help with the structure and lightness of the bake. Plus we benefit from a lovely rich buttery flavour. The olive oil is used for extra added moisture.
Maple syrup. Used here to infuse its rich and unique flavour and add moisture rather than provide sweetness (as we use the sugar for that). Choose pure 100% maple syrup without added sugars or artificial ingredients for the best quality and flavour.
Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.
Vanilla extract. Use a good quality extract, I like Nielsen Massey.
Almond extract (optional). You can add ¼ teaspoon almond extract if you enjoy a more pronounced almond flavour.
Flaked almonds (sliced almonds). These are for sprinkling over the top of the cake and give the topping a lovely nutty crunch.
How to make Gluten-Free Pear Almond Cake
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Peel, core and slice pear thinly, rest in lemon juice.
- Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl.
- Add eggs.
- Mix maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla in a jug.
- In a separate bowl mix the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients to the rest of the cake batter alternately to ensure even mixing.
- Drain pear slices from lemon juice and dice finely. Stir into tapioca starch to coat.
- Add diced pear to cake batter and mix in.
- Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 65-70 minutes until golden brown.
Tips for best results
- All the ingredients should be at room temperature before beginning (yes, even the eggs) which allows everything to mix evenly together and create a fluffier cake.
- Fresh lemon juice stops the pears going brown whilst you are preparing the rest of the cake. I recommend slicing the pears and then resting in the lemon juice. When you are ready to add the pears then drain the pear slices from the lemon juice then dice finely.
- I recommend using baking spray to grease the tin as it’s perfect for getting a light amount of grease around the bottom of the pan and up the sides of the pan.
- You can make the cake using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld electric beater.
- Allow the pear cake to cool completely before cutting into it as the crumb gets firmer as it cools.
FAQs
Yes, this recipe requires you to peel and core the pears. It gives a better texture and appearance to the cake.
This sponge cake is baked in an 8 inch (20cm) x 4 inch deep (10cm) round cake pan. I really like to use silver anodised cake tins which give an even bake. Silver aluminium cake tins are great too.
This Fresh Pear Cake keeps well at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
You can freeze the Pear Cake as soon as it has cooled. Double wrap in plastic wrap and aluminium foil to protect it well in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature overnight before unwrapping. Allow to breathe for half an hour before serving.
Yes you can, the texture will be a little more nubbly and not quite as soft and fluffy. But it still produces a good cake. Plus homemade almond meal does provide a more pronounced almond flavour. For the swap you just need to substitute the same amount of almond flour used in the recipe for raw whole almonds, with skin is fine. It’s a 1:1 substitution. I recommend grinding your almonds in a food processor with a couple of tablespoons of the amount of caster sugar used in the recipe. This will create a finer grind without the worry that you’ll start making almond butter.
More gluten-free cake recipes you’ll love!
- Gluten-Free Apple Cake
- Gluten-Free Spice Cake
- Gluten-Free Fruit Cake
- Moist Gluten-Free Plum and Almond Cake
- Gluten-Free Cherry Cake
- Sticky Date Cake
- Gluten-Free Coffee and Walnut Cake
✨Have you tried this Gluten-Free Pear and Almond Cake? If you liked it, please leave a 5-star ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your recipe turned out and your feedback also helps other readers✨
Gluten-Free Pear and Almond Cake
Equipment
- 8x4” cake tin
Ingredients
- 2 pears - ripe, (about 450g)
- Juice ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch - tapioca flour
- 220 g almond flour - ground almonds in UK
- 220 g gluten-free flour *see notes
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 150 g caster sugar
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 4 eggs - medium
- 50 g olive oil
- 30 g maple syrup
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract - optional
- 30 g flaked almonds
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/ 150°C fan / gas mark 3.
- Place a round of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan and lightly grease with baking spray.
- Peel, core and slice the pears very finely. Place in lemon juice whilst you prepare the cake batter.
- Cream the butter and sugar on a medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Break the eggs into a large measuring jug and add into the butter and sugar one at a time and beat until well combined.
- Pour the maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla extract into a measuring jug.
- Whisk the gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt together in separate mixing bowl.
- Add the flour mixture into the rest of the ingredients, alternately with the liquid ingredients, adding the flour in three additions and the wet in two (begin and end with the flour), scrape down the sides of the bowls as needed and mix until just combined.
- Drain the sliced pear from the lemon juice, and dice finely. Toss the diced pear in the tapioca flour until the flour has been absorbed then mix the pear into the rest of the cake batter until evenly dispersed.
- Pour into the tin smooth the top of the cake and scatter the flaked almonds over the top of the cake.
- Bake for 65-70 minutes or until an inserted cocktail stick comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave to settle for 5 minutes in its tin, slide a palette knife around the edges to loosen, then turn out onto a wire rack.
- Leave to cool completely before serving.
Video
Notes
- Your pears should be perfectly ripe – not too soft and not too hard.
- Concord, Comice, Williams or Conference Pears all work well.
- This cake uses medium sized eggs which are 60g each with shell, 50g without shell.
- Almond Flour. This recipe calls for almond flour which is blanched and ground whole almonds (without their skin). In the UK this kind of flour is sold in most major UK supermarkets labelled 'ground almonds' in the baking aisle. To make sure you know which almond flour you are choosing then check against this article The Difference Between The Almond Flours.
- Gluten-Free Flour. This recipe will work with your favourite gluten-free flour blend. It has been tested with Doves Farm Gluten-Free Plain White Flour and my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend. No xanthan gum is needed for this recipe, however if your blend does contain xanthan gum then that will work fine too.
- Allow the pear cake to cool completely before cutting into it as the crumb gets firmer as it cools.
How to store
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.How to freeze
Cool completely then double wrap in plastic wrap and aluminium foil to protect it well in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature overnight before unwrapping. Allow to breathe for half an hour before serving.Ingredient measurements
- Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
- US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
Claire says
This was very moist and didn't crumble when cut. The recipe was easy to follow and it rose beautifully. Had to remember that my oven is in F so had to convert. I am assuming by fan you mean convection oven.
The only thing I would change is adding more pear. It might have been mine was too ripe. My daughter also recommended putting sliced pear on top before cooking.
Georgina Hartley says
I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe - thank you for leaving your feedback!
F says
Great recipe, thank you so much. Made a great cake enjoyed by all.
I couldn't find tapioca starch and so substituted with a little gluten free flour, seemed to work fine too.
With thanks and best wishes
Georgina Hartley says
That's great to hear - I'm happy you enjoyed the cake!
Susan says
I am puzzled by the flaked almonds being baked for over an hour. As they toast in about 7 minutes on a sheet pan, I'm afraid they will get burnt. What's the secret?
Georgina Hartley says
There is no secret, the almonds won't burn as the cake batter protects them. When they are baked on a sheet pan they are on a direct heat source which is why they toast very quickly.
Christine says
As ever, utterly delicious, being an Irish cook I love your recipes, am always inspired, reminded of childhood treats and consider you THE BEST gluten free baker bar none. Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2023.
Georgina Hartley says
That's so lovely to hear - thank you and happy new year!
Moyra says
Thank you for all your recipes.
This pear and almond cake looks delicious. As there are only two of us, is it possible to make smaller cakes or muffins (cup cakes) with this recipe? If so, how long should they be baked?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Moyra, yes it's absolutely possible. I haven't tried this recipe in a smaller amount so I can't confirm the baking times. However, have you considered baking the recipe as it is and freezing the leftovers for another day? Since I had to make this recipe a few times for testing it I have done exactly that. I have frozen it in slices - and it is great for days when you fancy cake but don't feel like baking.