Easy vegan pear cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper with vegan butter, then generously sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons sugar.
In a bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat until the batter is smooth. Set aside.
Drain the pears (save the juice to make pear syrup - see notes). Place a maraschino cherry in the cavity of each pear half.
Set the pears side by side on the bottom of the baking pan, cherry side down.
Pour the cake batter over the pears. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let cool, and enjoy. The cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tip: Save the pear juice from the can and boil it in a saucepan, over medium-high heat, until reduced by half. Brush it on the cake right out of the oven.
Excerpted from The Buddhist Chef’s Vegan Comfort Cooking. Copyright © 2021 Jean-Philippe Cyr. Photography ©2021 Samuel Joubertand Dominique Lafond. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.