This pear cake has a lot of pear in it, so it’s healthier and moist. If you read this blog you will already know I love pears, I love both the taste and the texture and this cake is made with whole meal spelt flour and olive oil so it’s dairy free.
I think the thing about most cakes, is they can be lacking in the flavour department but this one is spicy and has the subtle fragrance that comes from the pears. It’s perfect as a birthday cake or as a tea time treat or simply just because you fancy some cake.

Recipe

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:
2 ripe pears
1/4 cup of golden caster sugar
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
3/4 cup of mild olive oil
1/3 cup of runny honey or maple syrup
1 egg and one egg yolk (or if you want to make it egg free, use egg replacer for 1 1/2 eggs (from health food store))
1 1/2 cups of whole meal spelt flour or plain flour
A pinch of allspice
A pinch of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Plus icing sugar for dusting
And a lemon if making icing
A deep 7 inch cake tin sprayed with cake release spray or lightly greased with cooking oil

How:
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Prepare the pears by removing the skin and core on one and then cut one pear into little cubes and cut the other into thin slices to place on top of the cake (I leave the skin on this one and slice it carefully with my mandolin) Set aside.
Put the egg yolk and egg in a large bowl and add the dark brown sugar, the golden sugar and the honey and whisk with an electric whisk till pale and fluffy. Then, add the olive oil and vanilla and whisk till thick and mayonnaisey.
Add all the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoonon till mixed together. It’s a very dense thick batter because the pears are juicy.
Now stir in the cubed pear till all mixed in.
Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and then lay the pear slices on top in a circular pattern. Sprinkle them with a tiny bit of sugar.
Place in the oven for about 60 minutes (all ovens vary so keep an eye on it) or until a skewer comes out clean from the centre, if the cake starts to get too brown during baking, cover tin with a sheet of tinfoil.
Once cooked, leave to cool in the tin, then turn out and dust with icing sugar or ice with icing. (Mix 4 teaspoons of lemon juice with 1 cup of icing sugar until smooth and drizzle over cake with a spoon and you can also sprinkle the lemon zest on top too for more flavour and decoration)
The cake can be served on its own or with dairy free ice cream like Swedish Glace. Cake and ice cream are the best.