Whole Pear and Olive Oil Cake

I’ve been watching (and loving) Zoe Bakes on Discovery+, one of many streamers I do my best to keep track of.  It’s another one of those soothing baking shows that draws you into another, calmer, better world.  She lives in Minnesota and makes it look beautiful, even when snow is covering the flowers.

Also, Zoe is a serious baker.  I’ve been familiar with her for awhile from her blog, but I didn’t realize her total awesomeness in the kitchen until watching the show.

She makes me want to bake all.  the.  things.  Croquembouche, I’m coming for you, spun sugar and all.

That baking project will have to wait for another day.  But the moment I saw the whole pear cake she made, I knew I had to get it in the oven as soon as possible.  I’m not even that big a fan of pears, but I just knew immediately I wanted to make a cake with a whole pear sticking out.  Don’t ask me why, but I did.

And I knew I wanted to make it a little differently than Zoe since I don’t have a tube pan and I wanted it to be an olive oil cake.  Pears and olive oil are besties!  Of course I also made it paleo because why not?

My cake isn’t exactly like Zoe’s, but I love it and I think you will too.  The pears are tender but not mushy and pair so well with the fruitiness of the olive oil.  Vanilla only brings more complementary complexity to the party.  And then there’s the glaze.  Theoretically that’s optional, but in reality, it’s totally not.  Cake needs glaze, especially when it’s flecked with more vanilla.

I’ll be here eating cake and waiting impatiently for the next season of Zoe Bakes.

Whole Pear and Olive Oil Cake

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Laura
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 8 slices 1x

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Description

Olive oil loaf cake with whole pears, a hint of citrus, and a vanilla glaze perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Cake

1 ½ cups paleo flour blend (2 cups almond flour, 1 ¼ cups tapioca starch, ¾ cup coconut flour)

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

1/3 cup maple sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla bean powder

2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

½ cup olive oil

Zest of 1 orange

3 bosc pears, ripe, but not too soft

Glaze

½ cup coconut oil

Juice of 1 orange

2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder

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Instructions

Make the cake.  preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ 325 degrees F convection.  Oil a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, stir together sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange zest, and oil until well combined.  Stir in half the flour, followed by the milk, then the remaining flour along with the cardamom, baking powder, and baking soda.  Pour into the prepared pan.

Peel and core the pears, using a melon baller or a teaspoon.  Gently place into the batter and try to stabilize. If they fall over a little, it will still taste good 🙂

Bake about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs.  Cool completely in the pan before carefully loosening and removing.  Place on the serving platter of your choice.

Make the glaze.  In a small microwave safe bowl, place all ingredients.  Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until fully melted.  If mixture is too thick, add more milk.  If it is too thin, add more coconut butter.  Pour over cake, allow to set briefly, slice, and serve!  Cake may be stored at room temperature for 3 days or frozen, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag, for up to 3 months.  Thaw at room temperature about an hour.

Notes

Recipe adapted from food52

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour