Gluten Free, Nut Free: Cardamon Pear Cake

This dessert cake is moist and delicate, the crumb threaded with rum soaked pears and a hint of cardamon spice. A great gluten and nut free bake which tastes gorgeous whether served warm or cold.

Recipe
My own, inspired by one for Anjou Pear Cake at bbcgoodfood.com see the recipe here.

Serves 8-10


for the pears:
500g pears, ideally firm not overripe
freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon rum

for the base:
175g unsalted butter, room temperature
175g light muscovado sugar
3 large or medium eggs
175g gluten free self raising flour (Dove's Farm recommended)
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder (Barkart recommended)
1 teaspoon ground cardamon seeds, taken from 3 pods



1. Heat oven to 180 (160C Fan) and line and grease a 20cm spring form cake tin.

2. Peel, core and chop the pears into small pieces, then soak them in a bowl with the rum and lemon juice to stop them browning.

3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.

4. Add the first egg, and a tablespoon of flour, and then beat well.

5. Follow the same process for the other 2 eggs, beating each with a tablespoon of flour into the batter until frothy.

6. To prepare the cardamon, open 3 pods and grind the seeds in a pestle and mortar before stirring into the cake batter.

7. Sift in the rest of the gluten free flour and the baking powder, and stir until well combined.

8. Gently fold in the pear pieces, with a teaspoon or so of the rum and lemon juice.

9. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin, and smooth down the top. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

10. When the cake is done, take it out of the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, before carefully placing upside down on a wire rack or plate to cool further.

11. When ready to serve, place a paper doily over the top of the cake and sift icing sugar to create a little sugar stencil pattern.

12. You can serve this cake warm or cooled, and decorated with the icing sugar stencil, or simply with sifted icing sugar ontop. Serve with creme fraiche or cream, perhaps even with a drizzle more rum if you're feeling especially naughty as our friends were today!

This cake was idly baked while listening to the Lianne La Havas album Lost & Found

Plum, Almond & Pear Flan

This is the most gorgeous flan, cinnamon laced plums and pears nestling in a plump almond batter. Perfect for an idle baker, it looks much more work than it really is. By baking this as a flan, rather than a tart, you cut out all the fussy pastry making and introduce a delicious biscuit base that adds a satisfying depth and crunch to the taste. It's also one of those puddings that can be made in advance, and brought out to much acclaim when it's time to eat, leaving you free to relax and enjoy yourself rather than slaving over a hot oven.

Adapt this recipe to accomodate whatever fruit you have in the house, using plums or pears alone if you like. If I'd had them I'd have added more plums, as they taste particularly good and look stunning against the almond filling.

Recipe
Adapted from the one online that I printed out years ago, and can't find on the web now
Serves 8-10


for the flan base:
200g digestive biscuits, crushed
85g butter, chopped small

1. To crush the biscuits, seal them in a plastic bag and hit them with a rolling pin. Then place the crushed biscuits on the weighing scales to measure out the right amount.


2. Gently melt the butter over a low heat, before stirring the crushed biscuits into the pan and stirring until they're well combined.


3. Press the mixture into a 9 to 12 inch tart case with a removable base, as you would for a cheesecake.

for the filling:
100g unsalted butter, softened
100g caster sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
85g self raising flour
100g ground almonds
2 or 3 drops of almond extract
4 or more large plums, halved and cored
1 pear, halved and cored (and peeled if you wish)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
vanilla sugar, to sprinkle
2 tablespoons red or purple plum jam
3 handfuls flaked almonds, toasted



4. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl for approx 3 minutes until light and fluffy.


5. Beat in the eggs one by one, followed by the drops of almond extract.


6. Next add the flour, milk and ground almonds, mixing well until smooth.


7. Pour the filling over the biscuit base in the tin, and smooth it down.


8. Roll the fruit in the cinnamon on a plate, before placing the plums and pears into the filling. You can either chop them finely and arrange them in concentric circles, or for a more rustic flan like mine you simply place the fruit halves into the filling, pressing them into the batter.


9.  Sprinkle a little vanilla sugar ontop, and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until the filling looks pale golden and bounces back under your thumb.


10. Take out of the oven and leave to cool a little, before taking out of the tin.


11. While the flan cools, warm a couple of spoonfuls of plum jam over a low heat and then strain through a sieve. Brush the flan with the strained jam juice, before scattering with flaked almonds.
I didn't bother, but you could also sift a little icing sugar over the flan if you like.


12. Serve warm or cold, with creme fraiche or cream.

This flan was idly baked while listening to London Calling by The Clash

Cinnamon Pear & Amaretti Pie for Valentine's Day

This double crust pie tastes and looks sublime. Spiced cinnamon pears in sugar and crushed amaretti are encased in shortcrust pastry, and topped with a decadent slathering of sweet rose buttercream icing. Delicious glamour for those planning a romantic Valentine's Day meal for an immensely greedy couple!

Recipe
Barely adapted from the recipe by Tamasin Day Lewis's book Tarts with Their Tops On. Buy the book on Amazon here.
Serves 4-6

for the pastry:
340g flour
170g unsalted butter, cold and diced

for the filling:
8 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
light muscovado sugar
lemon juice
12 small amaretti
quarter teaspoon cinnamon



1. To make the pastry, sift the flour into a large bowl, adding the cold diced butter and work quickly to rub it into the flour using the tips of your fingers.

2. Add 4 or so tablespoons of cold water, stirring in just enough to bind the dough. Gather into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other, and wrap in clingfilm. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

3. Meawhile turn the oven to 200C (180C fan ovens) and grease a deep 23cm pie tin.

4. When ready, scatter some flour on the work surface to prevent sticking, and roll out a little over half the pastry. With cold hands, start rolling the pastry with a rolling pin, rolling away from yourself and turning the pastry as you continue.

5. Line the greased pie dish with a little over half the pastry. Place in the fridge, along with the leftover pastry ball, until the filling is ready.

6. In a large bowl, toss the pear slices in lemon juice to stop them browning and lots of light muscovado sugar.

7. Next crush the amaretti by double bagging them in plastic bags and beating the bags with a rolling pin - most cathartic if you're having a stressful day! 

8. Add the crushed amaretti and cinnamon to the pears. Spoon the mixture into the lined pastry tin.

9. Roll out the rest of the pastry into a lid, and cover the pie. Using the leftover pastry pieces, cut out a large heart to decorate the top, making a small hole in the centre of the pie to let the steam out. Sprinkle with caster sugar the areas on the top that won't be covered with the buttercream.

10. Put in the oven for 15 mins, and next turn down the oven to 180C and bake for 30 minutes more until the pie and fruit are done.

for the icing:
2 tablespoons caster sugar
55g unsalted butter
3 tablespoons or 1 teaspoon rose flower water
110g icing sugar

11. To make the icing, throw all the ingredients except the icing sugar into a pan over a medium heat. Once at boiling point, take off the heat.

12. Pour the melted mixture over the sifted icing sugar in a bowl, and beat until smooth.

13. With a palette knife, slather the rich rose buttercream icing over the heart on the warm pie, or over the entire top if you've a very sweet tooth. Serve tepid, with whipped cream and a ball of any extra rose buttercream.

This pie was idly baked while listening to Jimi Hendrix's album Electric Ladyland