This recipe is loosely based on an apple spice cake from the Against All Grain cookbook but I changed it to suit my tastes and dietary needs. The pears came from my parents’ tree and I left the peelings on them because they’re nutritious as well as wax free. Feel free to peel the pears first.

As with my other cashew based cake recipe, I mixed the entire thing in my food processor. Since I can’t use Teflon coated pans due to my health, I used a deep, round ceramic baking dish rather than a traditional cake pan. This added a few minutes onto my cooking time.

2 1/2 cups raw cashews
6 pears, cored and sliced thinly
3 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup granulated erythritol
juice of one lime
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp stevia extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare a 9″ cake pan with coconut oil or olive oil spray. Layer the pear slices on the bottom of the cake pan in the circular pattern, saving the slices from one pear to put on the top of the cake. Add cashews to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they turn into fine powder. Add the coconut oil and lime juice, pulse until a thick paste forms. Add erythritol, cardamom, cinnamon, stevia extract, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Pulse until well combined. Add one egg at a time and pulse in between until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter on top of the pears in the cake pan, even out the top of the cake and arrange the slices from the last pear on top in a pretty pattern. Bake for 60-75 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting.