Coconut almond cake with pear syrup | Recipe of the Week

Visit the Federal Way Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday through Oct. 26 to pick up the local ingredients needed for this week’s recipe. The farmers market is located behind The Commons mall along South 324th Street in Federal Way.

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup almond coconut crunch (Pike Place Nuts)

1 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp of Five Spice

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup granulated sugar divided

1/2 cup olive oil (Ancient Trees)

6 eggs, separated

3/4 cup Greek style yogurt

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 lemon, zest about 1 tbls

Cooking spray

Pear syrup

4 pears (J&E Farms)

2 tbls lemon juice

1/4 cup water

2 tbls Kraken black spiced rum (optional)

1/3 cup honey (Novo Bees LLC)

Directions

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray and flour a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Chop the almonds into small fine pieces.

3. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, five spice and salt.

4. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together olive oil, 1/2 cup sugar until creamy. Add egg yolks and yogurt and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add almonds, lemon zest and flour. Beat on medium speed until mixture is well combined.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. With the whisk attachment beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat several minutes until the egg whites are stiff and hold glossy peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until thoroughly mixed.

6. Spoon the batter in the prepared springform pan and gently smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

7. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes, the center of the cake will fall slightly. Remove the side of the pan and cool completely. Make syrup while cake is in the oven. Serves 12.

Syrup

1. Peel, core and slice pears. Place in a bowl, pour lemon juice and rum (optional) over pears. Toss to coat evenly and set aside for 20 minutes.

2. In a medium sized saucepan add water and honey bringing to a boil. Boil for one minute.

3. Remove from heat. Pour pears into honey water and stir. Spoon over individual cake slices. Store remaining in the refrigerator.

Federal Way resident Vickie Chynoweth recently published a cookbook called “Well Fed: Easy-to-Follow Recipes.”