vegan pear, almond, and cardamom bundt cake

a hearty, nutty, moist cake with warming spices and natural sweetness from vanilla extract and chopped pears. healthy enough to be a breakfast cake but also sweet enough for an afternoon snack or dessert! slathered in almond butter or eaten warm topped with vanilla ice cream, this bundt cake is a delicious and HEALTHY option for any time of day!

do you ever crave something that will make you feel warm inside?

for me, it's usually lentil soup, or green tea. now, it's this breakfast cake.

it is hearty but not heavy; it is lightly sweetened but not overly sugary; it is moist but has a light crumb; it is flavorful but not overwhelmingly so. AND it only takes ONE (1!!) bowl! wow.

basically, it is perfect. it is also extremely forgiving of errors and takes well to substitutions! gluten-free flour would sub equally for the whole wheat and white flours I have used-- just add about 2 tablespoons of Arrowroot or Corn starch to aid with binding. if you do not want to use fresh fruit in the cake, up the liquid to 2 cups and use anything from chopped nuts to chocolate chips. the oil could be subbed for almond butter; the pear could be subbed for any fruit you can imagine; the water could be exchanged for almond milk or orange juice or whatever you desire! within reason, of course.

INGREDIENTS-

dry:

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup white AP flour

• 1 Tbsp starch (Arrowroot, Corn, Potato-- you know the drill)

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar for a mellower cake, 3/4 or 1 cup for a sweeter cake. up to your discretion

• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 tsp ground cardamom

wet:

• 1 1/2 cups water (or juice/plant milk)

• 1 medium pear, chopped into 1/2" chunks

• 1/4 cup oil (i use avocado)

• 2 teaspoons vinegar (i use apple cider vinegar)

• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract

topping:

• 1 medium pear, sliced thinly

• 1/4 cup whole raw, unsalted almonds

• 1 1/2 tsp cardamom

• 1 Tbsp coconut sugar/ raw organic cane sugar

instructions:

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees F. my oven generally takes a long time to bake things so you may only need to set your oven to 350 degrees F. spray bundt pan with non-stick spray and dust with flour.

2. in a medium bowl, add all dry ingredients and whisk to combine until homogeneous and has no clumps.

3. add wet ingredients and mix until just combined-- DO NOT overmix. whole wheat flour has a tendency to overdevelop its gluten very easily and this will make your cake tough and bready. gently fold the wets and dries together to avoid this.

4. pour batter into bundt pan. arrange sliced pears on top. combine cardamom and sugar for topping in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly across top of cake. this gives the cake a nice crust on top and is delightful but feel free to skip this step if you are cutting sugars out of your diet.

5. cook 40-45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out completely clean. start checking for doneness around 35 minutes. cool completely before slicing. do not cover/wrap until completely cooled or the texture will be mushy

that's all for this time, folks! lemme know if you try the cake, what changes you make to it, and if you have any suggestions. i hope you all enjoy!!