*This recipe is from the archives! I just added a video to go along (scroll down to watch).
This cake was inspired by the ingenious Elana from Elana’s Pantry.
Elana has a magical ability to create just about any baked good you can imagine sans the flour (although she doesn’t stop at baked goods!).
Her secret?!
Almonds!
Unbelievable, but true, Elana can make anything from cupcakes, biscuits, breads. cookies and more; basing her recipes around almond butter and almond flour. It’s really quite unbelievable if you ask me, but I’ve made several of her recipes and can assure you that they are delicious (and I am not even gluten-free!)
If you don’t believe me, go check out her blog and once you see what I mean, you’ll probably do as I did and run off to buy her cookbook (the Tropical Chocolate Chip Cookies are TO DIE FOR).
On another note, I was so excited to be feeling better (FYI I have finally made it to the second trimester- yahoo!) that when I got to the farmers market I loaded up on tons of seasonal fruits and veggies. I mean TONS! (Have I ever mentioned that I can have a bit of an all-or-nothing personality? I mean you don’t spend 10 years of your life on and off diets and yo-yo dieting if you don’t – they kind of go hand in hand).
So let’s just say that after about 8 weeks of doing nothing in the kitchen I was ready to go to all in!
My point? I had a handful of ripe pears (and other ingredients!) that I needed to use ASAP and had “snack cake” on the brain.
I wanted something not too sweet and not too heavy that would hit the spot while being a nourishing treat for me and my family! And that’s when I found Elana’s Cinnamon Apple Cake.
I made a few tweaks; I swapped the apple for pear, added a diced pear for a little texture, cut back on the cinnamon and added a bit of nutmeg and orange zest.
But the body of the cake was just as Elana suggested; almond butter, eggs, cinnamon, and a kiss of honey. So nutritious I dare to even call it cake (I like to think of this as more of a breakfast).
Not only did my husband and I love this cake but Katie gobbled it up too! And with an ingredient list like this one, I was happy to see her enjoy it so much.
I made a simple orange cream topping by combining some Greek yogurt with a spoonful of honey and some orange zest. It was a delicious combo for sure, but have no doubt, whipped cream would be delicious as well.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe pears cored and chopped
- The zest from one orange preferably organic
- 2 tbsp fresh orange juice from the same orange
- 1 cup roasted and unsalted almond butter
- 1/4 cuphoney
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp of vanilla beans or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350
- In a food processor combine one pear, orange zest, orange juice, and almond butter and pulse until everything is well combined.
- Add in honey, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and once again pulse until combined.
- Pour batter into an 88 glass pyrex dish that you have coated with cooking spray.
- Sprinkle the remaining pear over the batter and then use a spatula to gently push the pears under the surface.
- Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
- Top with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or some Greek yogurt. Enjoy!
- Makes 9 servings.
bullet says
Can’t wait to try this! Love the pictures:-)
AndreAnna says
I LOVE that this cake is so adaptable. It was a honor when Elana picked my recipe up to put her on twist on it and now it’s making the rounds in so many forms! This looks delicious and I haven’t made anything with a pear yet this season, so this may be it!
Cara says
I’ve had GREAT success baking with almond butter and almond flour. In fact, my favorite Passover brownies (and quite possibly my favorite anytime-brownie) is Nigella’s recipe which is made entirely with almond flour. Of course, it’s loaded with butter and sugar and not nearly as healthy as this! I’ve been contemplating more recipes using almond butter or almond flour – I might have to give this a shot!
Elena says
Dani,
This is too weird. I thought it was about time to come over and say hello to you after having the pleasure of making your acquaintance at Blogher Food, and then, low and behold, I get here and you have done a big post giving me many kudos. You are so sweet. And I’m glad to hear you are feeling better. My 2 pregnancies were very rough (morning sickness wise) so I have a feeling I know what you have gone through these past few weeks.
Thanks so much for your kind words!
Elana
Dani says
Bullet – Hope you enjoy it! would love to hear what you think:)
AndreAnna – Thank you Thank you for the initial inspiration! So glad to have found your blog through Elana’s post! The cake was great;).
Cara – Yum! Are those brownies on your blog? You know I am headed straight over to your site to find out;).
Elana – That is so funny! Small world:). Thanks for all of your inspiring recipes… this cake was deelicious!
Nikkole Sayman says
Hi Dani – I am so excited to see something like this my family can try at family dinners. Gramma needs gluten-free and low sugar while my son needs to avoid eggs, many nuts (peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts), and corn. My baking and creativity level in substitutions has been challenged and growing! While I have some ideas for substitute the corn/corn derivitives and eggs, I am wondering if you have any suggestions for the almond flour? I use a lot of rice, brown rice, sorghum, and tapioca flours – often a combo works best. What type of texture/density does this cake usually have? Thanks so much for your ideas and help!
Dani says
Hi Nikkole! It sounds like you’ve done a bit of experimenting with substitutions, so you might have a better idea… have you used coconut flour? Although I have not tried it in this recipe, it may work, but it would not be a direct substitution for the almond flour because the measurements would change.
Narahya Byrne says
My family LOVES this recipe! My four year old son asks for “Pear Cake” all the time and wants me to make it for his birthday cake even!! THANK YOU SO MUCH…. my husband loves them too (although I substitute soaked dates for sweetener)… We also love your pumpkin protein pancakes too! I was curious if you thought it would work with apples? I love and probably prefer the pears but we have an apple tree and I am drowning in apples 😉 Also, I have tried to contact you twice via your contact page on your website but it never seems to go through… I have a recipe I would REALLY love your assistance with that I have adapted from one online but just doesn’t quite work with cooking time / instructions. I would really love to send you the recipe (both my version and the original) and see if you would be willing to experiment with it? (I have no cooking sense so don’t really trust my ability to play with it on my own and I trust your wisdom and intuition / experience). It is for Chocolate black bean and spinach brownies… Many thanks again 🙂 *and I totally understand if you are too busy / not interested in the recipe but if you could just let me know either way I would greatly appreciate it!
Dani says
Hey! I do think it would work with apples… I think it would be great. As for the recipe, I’m not sure is I will have time to do it, but feel free to send it to dani@danispies.com so I can take a look.
Sandra says
Dani,
I tried this recipe today but I could’t get a firm “cake” consistency. It was really soft and moist. Also, just FYI, I had to keep it in the oven for 50 mins (350 degrees) for the knife to come our clean.
I this cake supposed to have a pretty firm texture? Any ideas of what could be happening?
Thank you!!!
Sandra.
Crystal says
I loved how much the orange came through in this recipe. This pear cake was perfect for my 18 month old son who loves pears.