Pear & Chocolate Gluten free cake with Meringue cloud and Pomegranate pearls
This gluten free chocolate cake is perfect for birthdays, celebrations, or just for the love of chocolate. It’s moist, fluffy with the perfect crumb, and I promise no-one will have the idea it’s gluten free. The recipe is long but easy—you will love it.
For the Cake:
2 ⅔ cups sifted Gluten Free All Purpose baking Flour (try finding the Gluten Free Cake flour mix which we use for baking)
1 cup sifted cocoa powder
– 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
– 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda)
– ½ teaspoon salt
– 2 medium fresh Pears peeled and cubed (tinned will not work because it contains too much moisture)
– 2 Tablespoons of Honey.
– 1 cup milk dairy or non-dairy
– 1 cup white sugar
– ¾ cup light brown sugar
– 3 eggs
– 1 teaspoon vinegar white or apple cider
– 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
– ⅔ cup oil safflower, canola, refined avocado etc.
– 1 cup hot brewed coffee or boiling water
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180 C.
- Prepare a 20cm cake pan by greasing it with butter and placing a baking paper cut to size in the bottom of the pan – make 2 of these if you are making the Meringue cloud.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients aside from the coffee/boiling water.
- Whisk in the sifted dry ingredients.
- Pour in the coffee or boiling water and whisk until combined. The batter will be thin.
- Layer the bottom of the tin with the pear cubes, try and get one layer.
- Drizzle over the honey.
- Add the batter to the prepared cake pan.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. All ovens are different so just keep an eye on it.
- Let cool in the pan(s) for about 10-20 minutes, then carefully flip onto a cooling rack. Then peel off the bottom parchment paper.
- Let cool completely before dusting with Icing sugar of decorating.
For the Meringue:
– 4 large organic egg whites at room temperature
– 115g caster sugar
– 115g icing sugar
– 2-3 Tablespoons of Pomegranate seeds (optional)
– 2-3 drops of Orange flavouring (optional)
Method:
- Heat the oven to 110C
- Line a baking sheet with non-stick liner or baking paper. Use the pre-cut shape the size of the cake pan for a perfect fitting cloud. (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).
- Tip 4 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.
- Now turn the speed up and start to add 115g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It’s important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don’t over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.
- Sift one third of the 115g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don’t over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy
- Fold in the orange flavouring if using.
- Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to fit the shape of the paper. Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer.
- Bake for 1 ½-1 ¾ hours in a fan oven, 1 ¼ hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour.
- Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.)
- If using with the cake, simply place on top of the cake and drop over the Pomegranate seeds.
- Do bear in mind that the meringue will go soft if left on the cake , so try and arrange to finish it in one sitting—no hardship indeed!