Pear Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
A uniquely flavored cake using olive oil as the fat along with a hint of black pepper and allspice add an interesting 'bite'.
Recipe Ingredients:
Cake:
1 (15-ounce) can pears in juice, undrained
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup quartered soft pitted prunes
2 tablespoons reserved pear juice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup finely ground almonds or semolina flour*
1 cup Equal® Spoonful**
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Cream Cheese Icing:
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Equal® Spoonful***
2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
Cooking Directions:
- For Cake: Drain pears, reserving 2 tablespoons juice. Chop 2 pears into 1/2-inch chunks. Pour remaining pears with 2 tablespoons reserved juice, buttermilk, oil, prunes and almond extract into blender or food processor; cover. Blend until smooth.
- Combine flour, ground almonds, 1 cup Equal®, cardamom, allspice and pepper in large bowl. Pour pear mixture into flour mixture. Mix lightly just until combined. Fold in pear chunks.
- Spoon batter into lightly greased and waxed-paper-lined 8-inch round cake pan. Bake in preheated 350°F (175°C) oven 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
- For Cream Cheese Icing: Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Frost top of cake with icing.
Makes 12 servings.
*Semolina flour is made from durum wheat and is ground more coarsely. It is available in some supermarkets.
**May substitute 24 packets Equal sweetener
***May substitute 6 packets Equal sweetener
Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/12 of recipe): calories 276, protein 6 g, carbohydrate 26 g, fat 17 g, cholesterol 6 mg, sodium 277 mg.
Food Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 fat.
Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of Merisant Corporation ® and the NutraSweet Company, makers of Equal®.