Vegan Dessert Recipe: Meet The Paleo Pear Cake

We've all been there. You show up to a holiday party with your go-to potluck recipe, only to find out that someone has dietary restrictions. Yikes! Isn’t informing us dish makers hosting 101? Since we love pear desserts here at Harry & David, we're sharing our favorite vegan dessert recipe with pears that will be a hit with everyone.

This take on a classic upside-down cake features Royal Riviera® Pears and uses a few simple modifiers that make it vegan and gluten-free. Instead of eggs, you can make a "flax egg" out of only flaxseeds and water, which has a very similar consistency. This vegan recipe also uses a combination of almond flour and tapioca flour to make a gluten-free substitute to conventional flour. Now, go bake your heart out and show up to those parties like a boss.

Vegan Pear Cake

PREP TIME: 20 minutesCOOK TIME: 40 minutesCOOLING TIME : 40 minutesTOTAL TIME: 1 hours 40 minutes

SERVINGS

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Equipment

• 8-inch springform pan
• Parchment paper
• Rubber spatula

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Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 34 cup water
• 3 tablespoons vegan butter spread (melted)
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 Harry & David Royal Riviera® Pears (peeled and sliced)
• 212 cups almond flour
• 12 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 12 cup maple syrup
• 12 cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

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Instructions

1
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.
2
Stir together the ground flaxseed and water in a bowl until well-combined. Allow the mixture to sit while you begin preparing the rest of the recipe (at least 15 minutes), stirring occasionally. The mixture should have roughly the same consistency as beaten eggs after resting.
3
Lightly grease or spray an 8-inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
4
Pour the melted vegan butter spread evenly over the parchment paper in the springform pan and evenly sprinkle the coconut sugar on top. It's okay if some of the butter spread begins to seep through the springform pan. Arrange pear slices on top of the buttery-sugar mixture. Set aside.
5
In a bowl, stir together the almond flour, tapioca flour, cinnamon, sea salt, and baking powder until well-combined.
6
In a separate bowl, mix together the flax egg mixture with the maple syrup, almond extract, and avocado oil until well-combined.
7
Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until well-combined. The mixture will be very thick.
8
Transfer the cake batter to the springform pan on top of the sliced pears and use a rubber spatula to smooth into an even layer.
9
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until the cake begins to turn golden brown and feels firm when gently poked in the center.
10
Turn off the oven and leave the cake in it for 10 minutes longer.
11
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 40 minutes. Run a paring knife between the cake and the cake pan, then turn it over onto a cutting board. Peel the parchment paper off the top, slice, and serve.

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Notes

If you aren’t vegan, you can replace the vegan butter spread with ghee or butter. You can also replace the flaxseed and water with 3 large eggs.

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Recipe Author: Autumn Micketti