Poached Pear Gingerbread Cake

This divine vegan and gluten-free cake combines the warming spices of gingerbread with the elegance of sunken poached pears, making it the perfect addition to your Christmas table! 
⁣

INGREDIENTS

Poached Pears

3 small or 2 medium pears, firm but ripe

2 strips of lemon peel

3-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly 

4 tablespoons pure Absolute Organic Maple Syrup 

3 cups water 

 

Gingerbread Cake

1 cup Inside Out Almond Milk

1 1/2 teaspoons Melrose Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 cup applesauce 

1/2 cup Billingtons Natural Light Muscavado Sugar

1/3 cup Red Seal Gluten Free Blackstrap Molasses

1/3 cup melted Loving Earth Raw Organic Coconut Oil

1 teaspoon Equagold Pacific Tahitian Variety Pure Vanilla Extract

2 cups all-purpose flour or Orgran Gluten Free All Purpose Plain Flour

1 tablespoon Organic Times Gluten Free Baking Powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons Gourmet Organic Herbs Ground Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon Gourmet Organic Herbs Organic Ground Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 

1/4 teaspoons Salt of the Earth Hand Harvested Fine Celtic Sea Salt

 

Orange Icing

1 1/4 cups Organic Times Organic Icing Sugar

Juice of 1 medium orange

 

METHOD

 

Preheat the oven to 175°C and line a standard 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper.

Make the Poached Pears: Peel the pears but leave the stalks attached. Slice the bottom off of each pear so they can stand upright with falling over. 

In a large saucepan, add the lemon peel, fresh ginger, and maple syrup. Place the peeled pears in the pan so they stand upright and then add 3 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover for 6-8 minutes, until the pears are just starting to soften. Carefully pick up the pears by the stem and set aside. 

Make the Gingerbread Cake: Mix together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes until it is slightly curdled. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the applesauce, brown sugar, molasses, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and the almond milk mixture until smooth and well incorporated.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and sea salt.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and beat with an electric mixture on low speed until the batter is just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Gently submerge the poached pears into the batter so that they are standing upright in the pan, surrounded by the batter. 

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, then cover the cake pan lightly with aluminum foil and bake another 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool for a bit, then drizzle with the Orange Icing and serve warm.

Make the Orange Icing: Add the powdered sugar to a medium bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the orange juice, whisking until smooth. Add more juice as needed until you have a smooth and thick but pourable icing.