Flourless Pear, Almond and Cardamom Cake

This Nordic and French-inspired flourless pear, almond, and cardamom cake is a serious crowd-pleaser. Gluten-free and dairy-free.

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Pure bliss. That is how I feel about this cake.

I just can’t get enough of it. Perhaps because it’s made up of some of my favorite ingredients: pears, almonds, and cardamom. But it’s also about how these ingredients come together to form a tender, pastry-like cake that is sweet on the palate and visually stunning for the eyes.

Nourishing Holiday Dessert

While I have grown to love cooking, I’m a baker at heart. I love precisely measuring and then mixing together a variety of ingredients, letting the oven work some magic, and voila! So I was super excited about this month’s Recipe ReDux challenge: to create a healthy holiday dessert.

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I’m not one to label food as healthy or unhealthy–food is food. However, with ingredients such as almonds, eggs, and coconut oil, this pear, almond, and cardamom cake is quite nourishing. It’s also nice because it yields thin slices that just call out to be savored.

Allergy-Friendly

Because it’s free of dairy, peanuts, and gluten, this cake is also allergy-friendly for many. If you aren’t dairy-free you could certainly use regular butter in this recipe as well. In fact, I adapted this recipe from a Boston Globe recipe for Flourless apple-almond pie-cake by Ingrid Lysgaard which used good old butter.

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Special Ingredient Spotlight: Almond Paste

The key to the simplicity of this cake is the almond paste. Almond paste is a Scandinavian product that can be purchased in most major supermarkets. My favorite is the Odense brand. It basically saves you the step of combining finely ground almonds and sugar into a paste.

Overall, the cake was quite simple to make. Just be sure to use a food processor to really combine the almond paste, coconut oil, and eggs. (I tried with a standing mixer first and that definitely did not work!)

I hope you give this recipe a try. Let me know what you think!

Pictures and text updated in November 2019.

Recipe

Flourless Pear, Almond and Cardamom Cake

 

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This flourless pear, almond, and cardamom cake is pure bliss. Simple to make and suitable for both gluten-free and dairy-free diets, it makes a stunning dessert! Serve on its own or with a dollop of whipped cream (use coconut cream if dairy-free). Enjoy!

Author: Maria Adams

Recipe type: dessert

Cuisine: Scandinavian, French

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

• Coconut oil (for greasing pan)
• 7 ounces almond paste
• 4 tablespoons + ½ tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom + more for sprinkling on top
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1½ medium pears
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• Confectioners sugar (for dusting on top before serving)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9 or 10-inch pie pan with coconut oil.
3. Crumble almond paste into a food processor. Add 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of melted coconut oil and process until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time while processing. Add the cardamom and salt and continue to process until smooth.
4. Pour the mixture into the greased pie pan. Use a spatula to get it all out and then spread batter evenly around pan.
5. Slice the pears into halves and then thin slices. Place the slices in a circular pattern on the batter. They can overlap, but don't let them touch the edge of the pan.
6. Brush the tops of the pears with the remaining coconut oil and sprinkle with sugar. Sprinkle on the sliced almonds and a little extra cardamom if desired.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes (10-inch pan) or 40-45 minutes (9-inch pan), or until firm to touch and golden brown. Let cool before dusting with powdered sugar.

Notes

Serving suggestions:
Whipped cream or coconut whipped cream if non-dairy.

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