PEAR RICOTTA CAKE

No ratings yet

This gluten-free cake is for everyone, especially around the holidays. It looks pretty, tastes festive and keeps well. Use small, ripe but still a little firm, pears. You can use an apple corer and remove the pears’ cores but I left them intact. The ricotta makes this cake so moist. It’s a beautiful Christmas or New Year’s cake.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 35

Course: Baking

Servings:

Calories: 436kcal

Author: Lovoni

Equipment

1 9-inch springform pan

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

6 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon 15ml vanilla extract
17.6 oz 500g ricotta (full-fat)
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/4 cup cornstarch cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra for dusting
Pinch of salt
Powdered sugar, for dusting

FOR THE PEARS

6 small firm, ripe pears, peeled I used small bartlett pears
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 quart 1 liter/4 cups water

Instructions

To make the pears:

Place the pears, sugar, cinnamon sticks & water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, covered, 5 to 10 minutes until pears start to soften. Carefully remove the pears and set aside to cool. The pear-infused syrup that’s left is good in cocktails or drizzled warm over the cake when serving.
Grease and line base and side of a 9-inch (24cm) round springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla and ricotta together in a large bowl until well combined and no there are no lumps. Add the almond meal, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Arrange the pears, nestling them into the cake mixture making sure they don’t touch the side of the pan. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until cooked when a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the mixture to cool in the pan before carefully removing the ring.
Place the cake on a stand of platter and dust with powdered sugar & cinnamon. Serves about 10.

Nutrition