Pear and Ginger Almond Cake

 

I love browsing recipes on the NYT Cooking app. So, when I came across David Tanis's Pear-Almond Cake, I made haste to bake it the very next weekend. I followed the recipe to the core, and the result was delicious. However, it was a little too sweet for my taste. I loved that it was completely gluten-free, but it was too crumbly and sticky. So, I browsed through the comments for this recipe, looked up a few other random pear cake recipes and decided to create this version for a book club meeting. Everyone loved it, so I made it again this weekend for a friend's birthday. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup unsweetened Greek yogurt
1 cup brown sugar plus 1-2 tbsp for sprinkling
1-1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tbsp finely chopped candied ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 large firm-ripe bosc pears, peeled and cut into slices
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Use parchment paper to line the base and sides of a 9" cake pan or use a silicone cake pan.

In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk eggs, yogurt and vanilla essence together. Pour the cooled melted butter during the whisking to incorporate the ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients - almond flour, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, candied ginger, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients gently until both mixtures are combined smoothly.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Arrange the pear slices in a spiral pattern and sprinkle the remaining tbsps. of brown sugar. Scatter sliced almonds lightly over the surface.

Bake for about an hour or until nicely browned and the inserted cake tester emerges clean.

Cool for about 10 minutes and run a butter knife to release the cake from the edges / parchment. Cool completely before slicing. 

Serve wedges, after dusting them lightly with powdered sugar (optional).

To make it gluten-free, use 2 cups of almond flour and skip the all-purpose flour.

Banana Bread

Over-ripe bananas in the fruit bowl? Somehow, the last two never get eaten!!! Instead of tossing them into  garbage, I usually peel and put them in a ziplock bag and freeze. Comes in quite handy for a smoothie/milkshake, better still - banana bread, yay! It all started with a muffin recipe passed on from my sister's friend. It went through a lot of versions (and a lot of muffins ;) before arriving at this dense, dark wheat-flax-brown sugar version. The wheat/flax part makes it wholesome while the dark brown sugar adds color, moisture and a rich molasses flavor. It makes a great weekend breakfast. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Over ripe bananas - 2 nos.
Dark brown sugar - 3/4 cup
(or dark jaggery)
Eggs - 2
Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp
All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
Wheat Flour - 3/4 cup
Flaxmeal - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1 pinch
Lemon zest - 1 tsp
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zest_(ingredient)
Chopped walnuts - 1/4 cup (optional)

Method:
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with a little oil and dust it evenly with some flour. This is the old fashioned way though. One can always spray the pan with any non-stick spray and that works too.

Sieve all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and keep aside. Mash the bananas in a bowl. Add the brown sugar and the egss. Beat well with a hand mixer. Add the oil, salt and the lemon zest. Beat again to combine well. Add the flour mixture and the chopped walnuts. Blend it in using a spatula. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until done. Tastes great when warm, however, the sweetness sets in only after the bread is completely cooled. Personally, I love it warm. So I always toast a slice on low setting and then spread some cream cheese. Yum-o!

Note: It stays fresh for about 5-7 days.

12/13/2020 Update - swapped chocolate chips for walnuts and topped it with half a banana. So good!!!