Gluten Free Pear Cake

A cake with fruit tucked into the batter is one of my very favorite kinds of cake to bake. This gluten free pear cake ticks all the boxes - it's sturdy, holds up well to a tube pan, is never dry, and is flush with a layer of chopped pears mixed with cinnamon. It tastes like fall: warm and cozy as a scarf wrapped around to ward off a chilly morning with

This cake first came into being as a gluten free apple cake. I loved the original so much, I decided to try it with pears, and I'm so glad I did. I adjusted the original recipe slightly, adding a bit of almond flour for moisture and also because it's a wonderful flavor complement to the pears, swapping in some brown sugar, along with a few other small changes. It remains dairy-free, so if you're sensitive to dairy, you'll have no worries when digging in. Make it in the fall or on a cold winter afternoon when you need a little extra comfort.

Celebrate Pear Season By Making This Cake!

My kids love eating pears, simply sliced up for a snack, or in a batch of pancakes with pears, and I believe this fruit is too often overlooked in favor of apples! While pears can be a bit more delicate, they are no less delicious when swirled into cake batter or chopped up and folded into a quick bread or muffins. This cake turns this unassuming fall fruit into the star of the show. I love this recipe because:

• It's not complicated. I love a straightforward recipe, and if you do, too, you're in luck with this one. Add all the ingredients minus the fruit to a bowl, stir together, and you're ready to bake!
• It needs simple ingredients. A quick glance at the ingredients list for this cake shows them to be familiar pantry staples. So helpful!
• And it's versatile. Swap in different fruit - I feel like November's persimmons would be outstanding here as well - play around with different spices, use butter for extra richness, and more. You do you.

Ingredients Needed

Make sure to scroll down to my recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.

• Gluten free flour - I used my homemade gluten free flour blend here, with super results. You may use a 1:1 all-purpose flour blend you prefer.
• Almond flour - I love adding almond flour to my recipes for extra moisture and structure. However, if you can't have nuts, you can leave it out and add 1 cup of gluten-free flour instead.
• Granulated sugar
• Baking powder
• Salt - Fine sea salt ot table salt works.
• Eggs - Large or medium-sized eggs are best.
• Oil - Your choice of neutral oil here, including vegetable, canola, or avocado oil.
• Apple juice - I like to use unsweetened apple juice because it's plenty sweet on its own, and I don't want to oversweeten the cake.
• Vanilla - Pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
• Pears - I like Bartlett pears for this cake, but you can use whatever is available to you.
• Cinnamon
• Brown sugar - Light or dark brown sugar is fine.

Variation Ideas

• Add nuts - Scatter ½ cup of sliced almonds across the top of the cake before baking.
• Almond extract - Sending a theme here? For a little almond flavor, add ½ teaspoon of almond extract to the batter along with the vanilla extract.
• Another fruit - As noted, other fruit choices can work with this cake batter. Try chopped plums, peaches, or persimmons in season.

Tips

• Remove from the pan gently. The cake will be a bit delicate even after cooling, so be careful when you remove it from the pan. Be very gentle when removing the bottom layer of the tube pan and have the rack ready so that you can transfer it there to finish cooling to room temperature.
• Place on a baking sheet. When using a tube pan, batter can sometimes leak out the bottom. To prevent spilling and burning on the floor of the oven, place the pan on a baking sheet to catch any extra batter.
• Prep the batter in order of ingredients. The reason this recipe works as a one-bowl method is that the batter is prepped following the order in the ingredient list. This helps everything meld together into a smooth batter.
• Use another pan. If you don't have a tube pan, a large cake pan, such as a 10-inch springform cake pan, works well.
• To serve: Freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, and don't forget the coffee!

How to Store

• Counter - Cake may be kept, loosely covered, on the counter for up to 3 days.
• Fridge - Cover the cake with foil and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Freezer - Wrap the cooled cake in a layer of plastic and a layer of foil, then store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge before serving.