INGREDIENTS
- 60ml (¼ cup) honey
- 125ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
- 3 pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1cm pieces
- 85g (½ cup) buckwheat flour
- 80g fine polenta
- 80g (2/3 cup) almond meal
- 1 ½ tsp gluten free baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 2 Tbsp xylitol
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lemon, rind finely grated
- 1 pear, extra, cut into seven 2mm-thick slices
- 1 Tbsp natural sliced almonds
- Warmed honey, extra, to serve
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Grease the base and side of a spring form pan and double-line with baking paper.
- Heat 2 Tbsp honey and extra 1 Tbsp oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add pear. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a bowl.
- Combine the flour, polenta, almond meal and baking powder in a bowl. Use electric beaters to whisk the eggs, xylitol, vanilla and remaining honey in a bowl for 5 minutes or until thick and tripled in volume.
- With the beaters on medium-low, slowly add the oil in a thin, steady stream until combined. Beat in lemon rind. Use a large metal spoon to fold in pear mixture and polenta mixture, in 2 alternating batches, until just combined. Pour into prepared pan.
- Top with extra sliced pear, layering in centre in a circle. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake, covering with foil if over-browning, for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with extra honey.
