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I love a good cup of hot tea (or coffee!). Perhaps even, it has become a sort of love language as some of the closest, most treasured people in my life have memories surrounding warm drink rituals cataloged in my mind with them. A warm drink to soothe the soul and savor in the moment; a cup of tea helps life’s worries just disappear and reset me into the present. I feel very similarly about using fresh, seasonal produce as if highlighting the best of the season helps to re-center my gaze on the everyday beauties that are just before me. While here today, they might perhaps be gone tomorrow, so let’s soak in the Lord’s beauty that graces the now. As I have noted before, since moving to Germany a year and a half ago, I have become much more keenly aware of these little rhythms and now find as many opportunities as possible to incorporate them into our daily routines. Combine these with my love for a cozy cup of tea and you can see how I stumbled upon this most recent recipe: a Pear Almond Chai Cake. While this is certainly not my first recipe highlighting a love of tea or hot drinks (you check out my Spiced Shortbread Bars HERE, Hot Drink Series HERE or ways to use an espresso machine HERE), this Pear Almond Chai Cake is a beautiful blend between seasonality and a pause to savor the goodness of the moment as it is best enjoyed the day it is made. So, if you are looking for a tasty recipe that embraces the now (and even is naturally both gluten and dairy free!), set aside your afternoon to try this delicious, moist and spiced Pear Almond Chai Cake.

Naturally Gluten & Dairy Free

Gluten Free

As this recipe is made with almond flour as opposed to a traditional white or all purpose flour, the finished cake is naturally gluten free although, I confess, you would really never know it. The nuttiness of the almond flour paired with the fluffiness provided by the whipped egg yolks and whites provides the cake with a most wonderful texture that is far from many of the challenging gluten free recipes I have tried in the past. Even aside from naturally being gluten free though, working with almond flour is also a great option for balancing your blood sugar and amping up the protein content, resulting in a cake that is not only appropriately sweet and fluffy but also moist and filling.

Dairy Free

Similarly, this Pear Almond Chai Cake forgoes any added butter, milk, cream or other dairy products, so in addition to being naturally gluten free, it also is naturally dairy free. With these considerations, it is a wonderful option for the everyday healthy dessert or for those with more specific dietary restrictions.

Recipe

Pear Almond Chai Cake

Sweet, subtle, spiced and naturally both gluten free and dairy free, this recipe is sure to be a hit for brunch, afternoon tea or dessert!

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Servings 8

Ingredients

3 Eggs, separated
½ cup Granulated sugar
1 tbsp Chai tea concentrate (store bought or homemade)
1 Vanilla bean, scraped
1 ½ cup Blanched almond flour
½ tsp Cardamom, ground
½ tsp Nutmeg, ground
½ tsp Ginger, ground
1 tsp Baking powder
¼ tsp Salt
2 tbsp Cornstarch
½ cup Pear, chopped

Toppings

⅓ cup Almonds, sliced
1 tbsp Turbinado sugar
1 Pear, sliced thinly

Instructions

Begin by creating your chai tea concentrate (unless using premade). To do so, heat up ¼ cup water and place one Chai teabag in the hot water. Let steep for 10 to 15 minutes until dark in color and strong in flavor. Remove the tea bag and set aside.
Next, place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of a springform cake pan and close the ring around the paper. Set aside while preheating the oven to 350℉ or 185℃.
In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar for 2 or 3 minutes until the mixture is a pale butter color, thick and has tripled in volume.
Once your egg yolks and sugar are fully combined, add in the chai tea concentrate and scraped vanilla bean (to scrape, simply cut the vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the interior). Mix well before adding the almond flour, spices, baking power, cornstarch and salt. The batter should be very thick at this point.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks emerge. Be sure that both the bowl and beaters are clean and dry to ensure the whites stiffen properly.
Working with a third at a time, stir the egg whites into the almond flour mixture. Once thoroughly combined, add in the chopped pears.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, spread to the edges and sprinkle with the almonds and coarse sugar. Arrange the pear slices in a fan around the top of the cake.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is browned, set and a knife, toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for at least 1 hour before serving. Run an knife around the edge of the pan before releasing the springform cake ring. Cut into slices and serve!

Notes

This cake is best enjoyed the day it is made or the day following. To store, simply loosely cover the top with foil to prevent trapping in too much moisture and making the cake soggy. Enjoy!

Savor The Season With This Pear Almond Chai Cake

Final Thoughts

As this cake is best enjoyed the day it is made (or the day following), it really is a great recipe to savor for brunch, an afternoon snack or evening dessert. While this Pear Almond Chai Cake does have staying power due to the almond flour, it is not a heavy cake, nor overly sweet, so it is flexible as to the time of day that it can be enjoyed. While I typically love highlighting apples this time of year and have found a great love for the classic French apple almond cake, branching out into working with pears feels like a wonderful option to transition between fall and winter seasons. So, if pears or chai are a favorite of yours as well, be sure to save and share this post to try it out!

Happy baking!