Gluten Free Pear Almond Cake Recipe

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Imagine for a second the aroma of pears, almonds and vanilla wafting through your home. Pretty good, huh? Ok, now imagine yourself biting into a piece of a moist, buttery cake flavored with pears and scented with vanilla. Even better right? Finally imagine that said cake is not only gluten-free but grain-free and, despite the buttery flavor, has not a speck of dairy! That’s not just good, that’s great!

Well, no need to imagine, just bake up this ridiculously simple cake and experience for yourself exactly how happy I was this past weekend eating more than my fair share of Pear Almond Cake.

Pears and almonds have a natural affinity for one another and as I mentioned before, this cake somehow winds up being amazingly buttery even though it is completely dairy-free and does not even use a dairy-free butter substitute.

This cake is insanely delicious as is, but if you want to glam-it up a bit, how about trying some of Amy’s Raw Cashew Cream or serve it warm with a scoop of dairy-free ice cream. If dairy is not an issue, some lightly whipped, unsweetened heavy cream on top is divine!

As a little side note, the method I used to prepare the pears also makes a great, quick side to serve along side some brined pork chops!

Gluten Free Pear Almond Cake

3.30 from 10 votes

Gluten Free Pear Almond Cake Recipe

By Gluten Free & More
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Chill time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
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Ingredients 

  • 4 ripe but firm Pears , – use divided
  • cups plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar , – use divided
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • cups finely ground blanched almond meal
  • 8 large eggs
  • teaspoons pure vanilla extract, – use divided
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
  • 1 tablespoon grapeseed, – (or other neutral tasting) oil
  • ½ cup sliced almonds

Instructions 

  • 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 2 teaspoons of sugar and the lemon juice. 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 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 is 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 423kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 11gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 42mgPotassium: 141mgFiber: 5gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 175IUVitamin C: 3.1mgCalcium: 97mgIron: 1.9mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Pear Almond Cake


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3.30 from 10 votes (10 ratings without comment)

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45 Comments

  1. Diane-The WHOLE Gang says:

    I must get pears and make this. I wonder if it would work with plums? I have some to make a plum sauce but the cake looks more appealing. I have to make this one really soon!

  2. The InTolerant Chef says:

    Sounds so nice, I'm very tired of dfree,gfree orange almond cake that all the cafes stock over here. This is a great change of pace.

  3. Valerie @ City|Life|Eats says:

    This looks amazing :) Thanks so much for stopping by my blog – I have been a longtime reader of yours so it was quite a thrill to see your name pop up in the comments :)

  4. patissierement-votre says:

    I love pear in cakes it's one of my favourite recipe :)

  5. Alea says:

    I am getting ready to harvest pears from our tree. This cake will be delicious way to kick off pear season at our house!

  6. Tasty Eats At Home says:

    Wow, this looks amazing! Wonder if I could pull it off with coconut sugar or sucanat? I'm sure it would have hints of molasses, but that might not be a bad thing. I'm in love with this already.

  7. Simply...Gluten-free says:

    Just FYI I have made this same cake with agave before and it came out great in case sugar is not your thing. I am very interested in how it comes out with coconut sugar.

  8. Heather @CeliacFamily says:

    My first thought when looking at the picture was "Amazing." I see from the other comments, I'm not alone. Another fabulous recipe to put on my "must try soon" list.

  9. Aubree Cherie says:

    Too beautiful to eat!

    (…okay, maybe just a little… hehe)

  10. Cheryl Harris says:

    wow. That looks perfect for this time of year.