This Gluten-Free Pear and Raspberry cake is a must-try for those who want to enjoy an easy, delicious, gluten-free cake.
Putting it simply, this is a terrific cake. Sweet, juicy pears and tangy raspberries add flavour and texture to a moist, almond cake batter.
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Inspiration for this recipe:
I received this recipe from my friend Heather, following a lunch in her beautiful Adelaide Hills garden. The cake was made by Lesley, another guest at the luncheon. I shall be eternally grateful for this delicious cake recipe.
There are classic flavour combinations in this cake. Pears and almonds are natural companions; their flavours combine beautifully.
In addition, raspberries frequently accompany pears. The bright, tangy flavour of raspberries perfectly complements the mellow sweetness of the pears.
Gluten-free baking faces several challenges. There is a tendency for some cakes to be flavourless, crumbly and dry.
However, the best advice that I have is to use a reliable recipe and this one admirably fits that description.
This is a versatile cake. It is an ideal companion to a cup of tea or coffee.
Alternatively, it is easy to dress up the cake too. With the addition of some whipped cream, a few fresh raspberries and a dusting of icing/confectioners’ sugar it becomes a delicious dessert.
Why we love this recipe:
I am very fond of gluten-free cakes which are made with the addition of fresh fruit. The fruit provides moisture, helping to eliminate the risk of a dry cake.
In addition, such cakes are extremely versatile. They are perfect to serve for morning or afternoon tea.
Further, with the addition of fruit they lend themselves beautifully to being served as a dessert.
This beautiful cake will brighten your senses. Nothing quite beats the aroma of a cake baking. There is a sense of pleasurable anticipation and the feeling of comfort and warmth in your home.
Whilst I can’t guarantee that cake makes everything better, there are occasions when it does help a little. Therefore, I encourage you, do yourself a favour and treat yourself.
Ingredients in this recipe:
Butter:
One of the most important roles that butter plays in baking is the flavour that it adds. In addition, it helps to give the cake a more tender texture.
Superfine/Caster Sugar:
I have used superfine/caster sugar. As the name suggests, it is finer in texture than regular granulated sugar and it, therefore, dissolves more readily.
If you don’t have superfine/caster sugar, did you know that you can make your own? Just briefly whiz some granulated sugar in a food processor or blender until the grains are reduced in size.
The grains, however, will not be as evenly sized as the commercial variety but are still a suitable substitute. However, if you blend for too long, you will make icing/confectioners’ sugar.
As a bonus, there is a greater economy in making your own superfine sugar.
Eggs:
Eggs have an important role in baking. They provide structure, flavour and improved texture by adding moisture.
Vanilla Extract/Essence:
The above terms, extract and essence, have different meanings in different countries. Therefore, I recommend that you check the label before purchasing the product to ensure that it has not been synthetically produced. The essence/extract which is made from vanilla beans has vastly superior flavour.
Gluten-free plain/all-purpose flour:
There are many excellent commercial varieties of gluten-free flour mixes available nowadays. I have made this recipe using several different brands, and have always had success.
Baking Powder:
We use baking powder in this recipe to ensure a light texture to the cake, and allow it to rise beautifully. If necessary, ensure that your baking powder is gluten-free.
Almond meal:
The terms almond meal and almond flour are often used interchangeably. However, there are slight differences between countries.
One may be made from blanched almonds and one from the whole almond. They are both finely ground, the main difference will be that the almond meal made from the whole almond will have some colour from the almond skin.
Pears:
Use the variety of pear of your choice to make this easy, delicious cake. I like to use the Packham pear or the Beurre Bosc.
Raspberries:
Fresh or frozen raspberries are suitable for this recipe. If using frozen, do not allow to defrost first.
Flaked Almonds:
Flaked almonds are readily available in the supermarket. I store mine in the fridge to keep them fresh.
Icing/Confectioners’ Sugar:
I generally use pure icing/confectioners’ sugar. However, if using icing sugar mixture ensure that it is gluten-free. Wheaten flour is sometimes added to the mixture.
Why I love Almond Meal in this Cake:
Almond meal/flour is a great addition to many gluten-free baked goods. The finely ground almonds add moisture, texture, structure and flavour.
One of the advantages of using almond meal is that it helps to replace some of the protein which is missing in gluten-free flours. Gluten is a protein which helps retain moisture and provides lightness, strength and structure to baked goods. Therefore, with gluten-free baking, it is necessary to find alternatives.
Almond meal also has nutritional benefit. It is lower in carbohydrate than flour, contains protein, dietary fibre, manganese and vitamin E.
Almond meal/flour is readily available in supermarkets. However, you can also make your own. Whiz some almonds in a food processor or blender until finely ground. Do not over-process or you will have almond butter.
It should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer as, once the almonds are ground, the meal/flour is prone to rancidity.
Step by step instructions:
To begin, I make sure that I have my butter and eggs at room temperature. This is essential to properly amalgamate the ingredients.
Next, I preheat the oven and line the base and sides of a 22cm/8 ½” springform tin with non-stick baking paper.
Sift the flour and baking powder, and set aside for now.
Using a stand-mixer or hand-held electric mixer I cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is thick and creamy coloured. I add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to properly incorporate them, then add the vanilla with the last egg.
Next, I add the flour, baking powder and almond meal and gently combine the ingredients.
Finally, I fold in the cubed pears and raspberries. I add the mixture to the prepared tin, sprinkle on a few more raspberries, and bake for 40-50 minutes.
At this point, a great deal of patience is required as the cake cools.
Tips for Success:
The technique that we use in this recipe to combine the butter and sugar is known as “creaming”. It means mixing the butter and sugar together until they are well combined and the sugar dissolves. The mixture becomes pale yellow and the texture is light and creamy.
To successfully cream the butter and sugar together, the butter must be at moderate room temperature. If the room is hot, the butter will begin to melt and the two will not successfully combine. This will result in a heavy, dense cake.
Likewise, if the butter is too cold it will be difficult to combine.
In addition, the creaming together of the butter and sugar aerates the mixture, helping to produce a lighter, tender cake.
To properly amalgamate the eggs into the butter and sugar, they should be at room temperature.
If you forget to get the eggs out in advance, place the eggs in a small bowl and cover with warm tap water. Leave for about 5 minutes. Do not use boiling water or you may find the eggs are partially cooked.
Ensure that the pears you use are just ripe. If they are very ripe, they will release too much moisture into the cake.
When using frozen raspberries do not defrost them prior to adding them to the cake batter.
More suggestions for these ingredients:
We adore raspberries in these recipes:
More Delicious Gluten-Free Cake recipes for you to try:
- Blueberry Cake
- Almond Cake
- Carrot Cake
- Four Ingredient Fruit Cake
- Belgian Lemon Tea Cake
- Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
Try this delightfully moist and tender Gluten-Free Pear and Raspberry Cake. I like to serve this cake with some rich, thick cream and a few fresh raspberries on the side. As a final flourish, I like to add a dusting of icing/confectioners’ sugar.
Make this cake for your family or serve at parties or barbecues. I guarantee that it will quickly disappear. You will most likely be asked for the recipe – it is that good.
Please let me know in the comments below if you make this cake.
Alex xx
Gluten-Free Pear and Raspberry Cake
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- 150 g (½ cup + 5 tsp) unsalted butter – at room temperature
- 160 g (⅔ cup) superfine/caster sugar
- 3 large eggs – at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 75 g (½ cup) gluten-free plain/all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- 125 g (1 ¼ cup) almond flour
- 2 medium-sized pears peeled, cored and chopped. See Note 1.
- 125 g (4.4 oz) raspberries fresh or frozen, divided. See Note 2.
- ¼ cup flaked almonds
- icing/confectioners' sugar for dusting
- to serve: whipped cream and fresh raspberries optional
Instructions
- Grease and line the base and sides of a 22cm spring-form tin.Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Beat the butter and sugar until it is thick and pale.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla with the last egg. The mixture may appear to separate but it will come together with the addition of the flour and almond meal.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, gently add the flour, baking powder and almond meal.
- Remove the bowl and, using a rubber spatula or large metal spoon, gently fold in the pear and most of the berries.
- Spread the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
- Place the remaining berries randomly on the top of the cake batter and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the sides of the cake tin and finish cooling on a wire rack.When the cake is completely cool, carefully remove the base of the tin and the baking paper and transfer to a serving platter.
- Dust with icing sugar.Serve with lightly whipped cream and berries – optional.
Video
Notes
- The pears need to be just ripe. If they are very ripe they will release a lot of moisture into the cake.
- Save a few raspberries for the top of the cake batter.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Deb Thomas
Really lovely cake. I made it yesterday exactly as recipe and it’s just beautiful. Going to friends for lunch so I’m making an apple/raspberry this time as I have no pears. I’ve used frozen raspberries each time. Thanks for the recipe.
Alexandra Cook
Lovely to hear, Deb! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing. Alex xo
Jacinta
hi !!!!
love this recipe , but the bottom of my cake ( where all the pear went ) is so soggy that it breaks. i did pop my pears into the microwave to soften ( this may have made them more wet) how do i go about re fixing this?? would coating the pears in flour help.
i did notice when cooking, the middle was not cooking and took well over an hour to cook. any advice please i love this recipe
Alexandra Cook
Hello Jacinta,
I am so happy you love this recipe, and I have some suggestions that should help!
It is really important that the pears are not overly ripe, and I would definitely think softening them in the microwave would likely produce too much moisture. I’d skip this step next time.
Also, I would check that your oven is reaching the correct temperature – an separate oven thermometer is very handy.
If an oven is running too hot, as an example, the cake can brown on the outside without cooking through.
I’ve never found the need to coat the pears in flour. You could make the cake as per the recipe, but toss the pears in the dry ingredients and then combine the mixtures using a large spoon. Before I would do this though, I would try the two suggestions above 🙂
Thanks so much! Alex xo
Vicki McMahon
I made this for the christmas table, I needed a big cake so made it double and in a slab tin. It was loved by all.
Alexandra Cook
Lovely to hear this, Vicki!
Thank you so much, Alex xo
Sally
I used blueberries as that’s what I had, even better the next day. Thanks.
Alexandra Cook
Hi Sally,
So happy to hear this 🙂 Thanks heaps for sharing!
Alex xo
Katherine Evans
Can you Freeze the cake ? If using fresh pears and berries ?
Alexandra Cook
Hi Katherine,
Like many gluten-free bakes, this cake is best the day it is made. However, it can be frozen and does freeze quite well! I would suggest wrapping in a couple of layers of plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out/getting freezer burn and then storing in an air tight container.
Let me know if you give it a try. Thanks, Alex
Brigette
This is delicious! I’ve made it several times and it is always a hit.
Alexandra Cook
This is great to hear, Brigette 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing. Alex xo
Eva Ved
Easy to make and delicious
Alexandra Cook
Thank you, Eva!
Alex xo
Dani Shinkfield
Made your Pear and Almond cake today. Beautifully delicious and easy to make. Many thanks all the way from Australia. This will now be my go to cake.
Alexandra Cook
Thanks so much for making our recipe, Dani! And hello from a fellow Aussie 🙂
I appreciate you taking the time to comment, Alex xo
Debra
I have lost count of how many times l have made this.
It’s Absolutely Beautiful. It’s always a winner .
Thankyou so much for the recipe.
Alexandra Cook
This is lovely to hear, Debra!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment, Alex xo
Jane Miller
Can I make this with frozen pears and frozen berries . My fruit trees yield so much fruit that I freeze most for use later
Cheers
Jane – fellow South Ozzie
Alexandra Cook
Hello Jane 🙂
I have tried using frozen berries, but not pears. I would think the pears would be fine, but I would defrost them first and drain off any extra liquid – that would be my only concern, the excess moisture.
Do let me know how you get on if you give this recipe a try! Thanks, Alex xo
Anya
Wow! Absolutely amazing cake! Made it with apples instead of pear and it worked well too. Thank you!
Alexandra Cook
I am so happy you enjoyed it, Anya!
Alex xo
Claire
Comes out beautifully every time. This is now an regular on our autumn café menu!
Alexandra Cook
I am so happy you enjoy this recipe, Claire 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing, Alex xo
Jennie Tillyer- Nix
Can I use ground almonds instead of almond flour?
Alexandra Cook
Hi Jennie,
You can – if the ground almonds are not blanched, there may just be a little more texture to the cake, but it will still be delicious 🙂
Thanks, Alex
Ineke
This is one of the best cakes we’ve ever had – GF or no GF. We served it at a dinner party last night and everyone wanted seconds! I omitted the raspberries and toasted the almonds and served it alongside vanilla ice cream. Incredible. Thank you SO much. What a great cake. I xx
Alexandra Cook
Hi Ineke!
I am so happy to hear this 🙂 I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know!
Alex xo
Misha
Made this today and it was amazing! Question- what is the best way to store the cake? In the fridge or at room temp?
Alexandra Cook
Hi Misha,
Thanks so much 🙂
We like to store the cake in a cool, dark location. If your home is warm, the fridge is best. Otherwise, in the pantry if that is a nice cool spot. If you plan on keeping it for a few days, you may also wish to freeze.
Alex xo
Monica Santos
I made this for Mother’s Day. It was delicious and came out exactly as I was hoping. It was also quite quick and easy. Some notes on my experience. The batter was quite sticky and it seemed that there wasn’t enough batter to be complete, but it came together beautifully. I cooked it 55 minutes.
Alexandra Cook
Hi Monica,
Thank you for your feedback on the GF Pear and Raspberry Cake. I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed it for Mothers’ Day and appreciate that you took the time to let me know. 🙂
Maureen
Hi can I double the recipe?
Alexandra Cook
Hi Maureen,
That’s not something I have tried before, so I couldn’t say for sure.
If you were to give it a try, you’d need to make sure that the mixture was evenly divided between two tins – I don’t believe it would work as one large cake.
Let me know if you give it a try! Thanks, Alex
Biddy Gander
someone (Vikki McMahon in Dec ’24) has said she doubled it successfully.
Diane Rowe
Hi Alex,
I have made this cake so many times it is always appreciated,
the other great thing is it freezes so well if time is limited
thank you for sharing
Diane
Alexandra
Hi Diane, thank you for your lovely feedback on the GF Pear and Raspberry Cake. I am delighted that you enjoy it and appreciate that you took the time to let me know. 🙂
Diane
I want to make this delicious looking cake, need to know if xanthan gum should be included in the all purpose flour blend?
Alexandra
Hi Diane,
We use a flour blend that already contains xanthan gum. If yours doesn’t, you can add a tiny amount of xanthan gum –
Usually, it is 1/4 teaspoon per cup of flour. This is about 1/4 cup of flour, so it will be a very small amount – a pinch, practically 🙂
Hope that helps! Thanks, Alex
Chris
Really liked
Raspberry and almond flavoring a treat
We’ve come to the end of our pear harvest, and this has been my preferred bake
Now to try out with the frozen pears
Thank you for this recipe
Alexandra
Hi Chris, thank you for your lovely comments on the GF Pear and Raspberry Cake. I am delighted to hear that you have been enjoying it with your own harvested pears, and I appreciate that you took the time to let me know. 🙂
Sue
What a lovely cake this is, I have made it several times and always turns out good. So nice to find a gluten free cake that is this good, they’re usually not this good. Will be trying your other recipes.
,
Alexandra Cook
That is so kind of you, Sue! 🙂 Thank you so much.
I hope you’ll find lots more recipes to try, and please reach out any time if you’re looking for anything in particular!
Alex xo
Cassie
This recipe sounds wonderful. I was wondering if I could use erytherol and dairy free butter as a replacement? I cannot have gluten dairy or sugar
Alexandra
Hi Cassie, you could use a dairy-free spread, but we have never tried making this cake with erythritol or another sugar substitute. If you do try, I would be interested to hear how it works. 🙂
Tessa
I’ve made this several times, it’s our house’s favourite and most requested cake! Works well with regular flour.
Alexandra
Hi Tessa, thank you for your lovely feedback on the Pear and Raspberry cake. I am so pleased to hear that it is popular in your home and appreciate that you took the time to let me know. 🙂