I've been going gluten free recently, which was actually easier than I first thought (albeit more expensive). Treats such as this delicious cake have certainly played their part and this one is so good it deserves a place amongst any conventional equivalent. The pears are of course wonderful but the stars of the show are the hazelnuts. There's just something about a toasty hazelnut that is so hard to beat!
Prep time: 15 Mins
Baking time: 60 Mins
100g Ground Hazelnuts
200g Golden Caster Sugar
4 Large Eggs (Beaten)
100g Unsalted Butter (Melted and left to cool slightly)
1tsp Almond Extract
1tsp Vanilla Extract
200g Ground Almonds
4 Large and Slightly Firm Pears
Baking time, whoop whoop! Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5, grease a 23cm springform cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Take 25g of the ground almonds and sprinkle into the inside of the tin, so they stick to the greased sides. This will make it much easier to remove the cake from the tin when the time comes.
Whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale and frothy, then add the melted butter and keep whisking. Don't be tempted to add red hot butter or you'll be left with scrambled eggs! Add the two extracts, then with a wooden spoon fold in the ground almonds and the 75g of leftover ground hazelnuts. Spoon into your prepared tin and gently ease to the edges.
Peel and core the pears, then slice lengthways, about the thickness of a pound coin. Arrange over the top of the cake mixture, pressing into the surface, about a third of the way down. I like doing this as you're left with a nice peary surprise when slicing! Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for around 60 mins, until a metal skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. When you are happy the cake is baked remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
When the cake is cool carefully remove from the tin, peeling off the paper from the base. Slice and serve. Yum!
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