Gluten Free Brandied Pears Coffeecake with Optional Streusel Topping

Pears have a wonderful delicate taste, but add them to baked goods and the taste almost disappears. However, brandied pears retain that wonderful pear flavor, with an added kick. Whether served as a coffee cake, a loaf cake or as muffins, this is a light, delicate bake with the wonderful taste of brandied pears. Cardamom goes exceptionally well with the brandied pears. And its gluten free! Plus, you can make it dairy free!

The Inside Scoop

This is a fairly straightforward recipe. I just have a few inside comments:

When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of sugar is 192 grams. By volume, this measure will be less than 1 cup.

For help with poaching pears in brandy syrup, please see How To Make Brandied Pears.

A stand mixer is one of a gluten free baker’s best friends.

This recipe works equally well with brandied peaches.

Crack eggs into a small bowl before adding to the batter. That way, it is easy to remove any bits of eggshell or bloody eggs.

This recipe can be made as jumbo muffins or as an 8″ x 8″ coffeecake. Spray the inside of the jumbo muffin cups or the coffeecake pan with a non-stick cooking spray.

This recipe was made using My Gluten Free Flour Mix. Due to the varying characteristics of gluten free flours, other gluten free flour mixes are not guaranteed to work.

Do not add the streusel topping if you will be freezing this coffeecake. When thawed, previously frozen streusel topping has a decidedly unpleasant appearance.

These muffins can be made dairy free by substituting all-vegetable shortening or vegan butter for the dairy butter in the streusel topping.

If using streusel topping, sprinkle the streusel lightly over the top of the muffins or coffeecake; distribute evenly over the surface. Clumps of streusel will sink into the muffins/coffeecake.

Streusal topping evenly distributed on top of muffins.

Since gluten free flours do not contain gluten, extended mixing times are important to help the flours absorb moisture. Refrigeration time is essential to allow flours to absorb moisture and eliminate the gritty “gluten free” texture and taste. Although the “grittiness” can be mostly eliminated after 15 minutes of refrigeration, I find longer refrigeration times continue to improve the texture, taste and rise of the gluten-free baked goods. As one can see in the pictures, I get an amazing rise.

Print Recipe

Gluten Free Brandied Pears Coffeecake with Optional Streusel Topping

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A light, delicate coffeecake with the wonderful taste of brandied pears. Cardamom goes exceptionally well with the brandied pears. And its gluten free! Plus, you can make it dairy free!

Ingredients

504 g/ 3 ¼ c. My Gluten Free Flour Mix

205 g./ 1 ¼ c. Teff Flour

1 T. Baking Powder

1 t. Baking Soda

1 t. Salt

1 ½ t. Xanthan Gum

1 T. Pumpkin Pie Spices (1 t. Cinnamon, ½ t. Ginger, 1 t. Nutmeg, ½ t. Cloves)

96 g./ ½ c. Brown Sugar

127 g./ 2/3 c. Granulated Sugar

229 ml/ ½ c. Canola Oil

625 g/ 2 ½ c. Coarsely Chopped Brandied Pears

248 ml/ 1 c. Brandied Pear Syrup, strained to remove spices

3 Large Eggs

Streusel Topping:

28 g./ 2 T. Cold Butter (or all-vegetable shortening or vegan butter for a non-dairy alternative)

96 g./ ½ c. Sugar

2 T. Cinnamon

2 t. Cardamom

Instructions

1

For the best brandied pear flavor, make the brandied pears one week before using; let the brandied pears sit in a covered bowl or jar with the syrup and spices until ready to use.

2

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the gluten free flour mix, teff flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and spices; whisk together thoroughly.

3

In a smaller bowl, combine both sugars, canola oil and pear syrup (strained to remove the spices) and eggs; whisk together thoroughly. Add the coarsely chopped brandied pears; stir to combine.

4

Combine all wet and dry ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into a container with a lid, place in the refrigerator and store covered for 2-12 hours.

5

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the desired size pans (jumbo muffin cups, cake pan or loaf pans) with non-stick cooking spray.

6

Make the streusel topping: Place the Streusel Topping ingredients into the bowl of a small food processor. Pulse until ingredients are just combined and easy to sprinkle onto the top of the muffins. Do not over mix.

7

If you choose to make the streusel topping by hand, place the streusel topping ingredients onto a bowl with a flat bottom or onto a plate. Use a fork to mash the ingredients together until the streusel ingredients are well-combined but still granular.

8

Remove the batter from the refrigerator. Pour the batter into the bowl of the stand mixer; beat for 2 minutes on a medium slow speed to mix thoroughly and to incorporate air. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pans or muffin tins. If using jumbo muffin tins, pour only 4 ounces of batter into each muffin tin.

9

Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top of the coffeecake batter; avoid clumps of streusel topping as clumps will sink into the batter. If making jumbo muffins, sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons streusel topping evenly over each muffin.

10

Place pans in oven. Bake for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the pan, until a metal cake tester, inserted into the center, comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and place onto cooling racks. Cool completely.

11

Enjoy!