Apple, Pear and Bay Leaf Cake – Dani Valent

This beautiful grain and nut cake is a true favourite of mine and I hereby give you permission to eat cake whenever you want.

So simple to make yet so unusual in flavour, this two-fruit cake is based on buckwheat and almonds, while bay leaf adds a subtle herbaceous fragrance. The cake is gluten-free, so long as the baking powder used is gluten-free too. Served with tea, it’s a nourishing, sustaining feel-good cake.

Makes: 1 large cake
Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 150 grams (5.3 oz) unsalted butter, cut into pieces (2 cm / 1 in), plus extra for greasing
  • 160 grams (5.6 oz) buckwheat
  • 100 grams (3.5 oz) raw almonds
  • 120 grams (4.2 oz) raw, brown or rapadura sugar
  • 1 fresh or dried bay leaf
  • 1 pear (approx. 100 grams / 3.5 oz), peeled and cored
  • tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 Granny Smith (or other) apple, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices (5 mm)
  • brown sugar, for sprinkling
  • whipped cream or yoghurt, to serve (see Tips) (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F). Grease and line a springform cake tin (20 cm / 8 in) with baking paper and set aside.

2. Place buckwheat, almonds, sugar and bay leaf into mixing bowl and mill 12 sec/speed 9.

3. Add butter, pear, vanilla, eggs, baking powder and salt and mix 50 sec/speed 5.

4. Pour mixture into prepared tin. Fan apple slices over cake in a circular pattern, then sprinkle with brown sugar.

5. Bake for 55 minutes (170°C / 340°F) or until cake springs back when touched and a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely, then serve with whipped cream or yoghurt (optional).

Tips

  • This cake can be made with other seasonal fruits (eg. apricot, peach or plum).
  • Try experimenting with different flavours by replacing the bay leaf with rosemary (12 leaves) or sage (4 leaves).
  • You can replace the buckwheat with buckwheat flour, wholemeal flour or plain flour.
  • You can make this cake using a 22 cm / 9 in cake tin – the cake will be a bit thinner, but the baking time will stay the same.

Want more delicious and comforting cakes, biscuits, sweet treats and desserts? I have an entire dessert recipe library over here.

View PDF
I love my Elk top & Obus pants

What's this site all about?

My business card says ‘Writer. Eater. Traveller. Cook.’ I do all these things with equal passion, which is why I’m sometimes sitting at my laptop with an apron on! This is where I share all my best bits of writing, recipes and videos. There are free areas of the site where you can stay up to date with my journalism and get a taste of my cooking adventures. Sign up as a member and you’ll get access to my awesome and ever-growing library of cooking videos and recipes, focusing on Thermomix.

This is a place for inspiration, chefs’ secrets, practical tuition and happy creativity. If you like cooking and eating delicious food and basking in the compliments of family and friends, this site is for you. You’ll be amazed what you can create with my recipes and videos as your guide.

See what recipes are available here.

What do members love about the site?

Become A Member

© Dani Valent 2024