Upside-down Pear Crumble Cake (Dairy & Gluten Free)
I wanted to create a fruit crumble cake for the season—something autumnal and stodgy. However, I’ve found that upright crumble cakes often have issues: the fruit sinks, the crumble catches, or the sponge turns out dry. So, I decided to try something unconventional: baking the cake upside down. I expected the crumble to turn to mush, but I was pleasantly surprised—it held its shape and stayed crumbly. I tweaked my gluten-free cake base to make it dairy-free as well. Pears felt like the right choice—they’re underrated (relatable) and available tinned, so ripeness isn’t a concern. The crumble is slightly sweet and oaty, while the cake is spiced and moist. If you can’t tolerate gluten-free oats, try chopped almond flakes for extra crunch.
Serves 10-12
Hands-on Time 30 minutes (plus cooling)
Baking Time 50 minutes
Ingredients
250g ground almonds (divided)
50g cornflour (divided)
2 tsp mixed spice (divided)
50g margarine (or dairy-free spread, plus extra for greasing)
20g demerara sugar (plus 1 tbsp for topping)
35g oats (gluten-free)
1 large tin pear halves in fruit juice (approx. 430g undrained)
65g soft light brown sugar
50g caster sugar
3 medium eggs (separated)
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 pinches fine salt
Equipment
Small bowl
Fork
Scissors
Baking parchment
20cm fixed or push-bottom cake tin
Kitchen paper
Knife
2 mixing bowls
Electric whisk
Spatula
Serving plate
Method
1. Make the crumble topping
In a small bowl, combine 125g ground almonds, 35g cornflour, and 1 tsp mixed spice.
Add small dollops of margarine and mix with a fork until crumbly.
Stir in 20g demerara sugar and the oats. Set aside.
2. Prepare the cake tin
Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C (fan)/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
Cut a circle of baking parchment to fit the base of the cake tin.
Grease the tin with margarine and line with the parchment.
3. Prepare the pears
Drain the pear halves, reserving the juice for another use.
Pat the pears dry with kitchen paper. Reserve 2 pear halves and chop the rest into small pieces.
4. Make the cake batter
Separate the eggs into two mixing bowls.
Add the chopped pears and soft light brown sugar to the egg yolks. Beat with an electric whisk on low, then high speed for 1 minute.
Clean the beaters and whisk the egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the caster sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form.
To the egg yolk mixture, add the remaining 125g ground almonds, 15g cornflour, 1 tsp mixed spice, ground cardamom, and a pinch of salt. Mix with a spatula.
Fold in the egg whites in two batches until no streaks remain.
5. Assemble the cake
Sprinkle 1 tbsp demerara sugar over the base of the lined tin.
Add half the crumble mixture, then arrange thinly sliced reserved pear halves on top.
Sprinkle the remaining crumble over the pears.
Pour the cake batter over the crumble and gently tap the tin on the worktop to level.
6. Bake the cake
Bake on the middle shelf for 50 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate. Remove the parchment and flip so the pear side is up.
7. Serve
Let the cake cool completely before serving.
Enjoy!
