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This tasty Apple Pear Cake has white whole wheat flour, apples, pears, Golden Monkfruit Sweetener, pecans, and a touch of cinnamon! Of course a cake with apples and can’t be sugar-free, but there’s no added sugar in this cake.

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Square image of Apple Pear Cake shown on plate with whipped cream.

This Apple Pear Cake is a whole wheat cake sweetened with Golden Monkfruit Sweetener that’s a delicious treat for fall. There’s something about cinnamon-laden cakes with fruit that just screams Autumn, but this cake recipe actually got started when I had a surplus of zucchini and made Low-Sugar Harvest Cake with apples, zucchini, and carrot. Despite the fact it looked more like a bread than a cake, it was definitely one of my favorite new recipes that year.

At the time I wondered if you could adapt the recipe to make a cake with just apples, but when I had both pears and apples I decided to try it with that combination. Apples and pears together in a low sugar cake sounded so good to me, but my first attempt was far too wet, and I also decided I wanted a flat cake instead of the loaf pan the original recipe called for.

It took me two more cakes to get to the version you’ll find in this recipe, which is a low-sugar dessert that I’m thinking just about anyone would enjoy. And this is admittedly a bit of a splurge on carbs, but it’s a wonderful treat when fresh pears are in season. 

When I went to photograph the Apple Pear Cake, it screamed for a dollop of something creamy on top, and I used a dollop of whipped cream from a can that I had in the fridge, which was actually pretty low in sugar. Of course you could use sugar-free or low-sugar ice cream or frozen yogurt, but an anonymous commenter suggested topping the cake with plain low-fat Greek yogurt, which I think sounds good.

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

How high in carbs is the Apple Pear Cake?

This tasty cake without added sugar has about 18 net carbs in a serving.

More Low-Sugar Desserts with Apples:

Apple-Pear Cake process shots collage

How to Make Apple-Pear Cake:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Start by combining the white whole wheat flour, Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link), baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
  2. I found I got best results with this recipe when I grated the pear and apples in a Food Processor (affiliate link); hand grating made it wetter, so I’d recommend using that if you have one.
  3. One pear and two apples gave me 2 cups of grated pear-apple mixture.
  4. Mix the pear-apple mixture into the dry ingredients, turning over several times until all the grated fruit is coated with the flour-sweetener mixture.
  5. Then measure 3/4 cup pecans, chop pecans with a chef’s knife, and stir into the floured fruit mixture.
  6. In a small bowl, whip eggs with a fork, then stir in the oil and buttermilk and stir together a few times with the fork.
  7. Pour egg mixture into the other bowl with the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
  8. Spray a 9X9 inch dish with non-stick spray, then pour the batter in and pat down evenly with a rubber scraper. (I think an 8×8 inch cake pan would also work.)
  9. Cake is done when it’s nicely browned, begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For me, that was about 35 minutes.

More Low-Sugar or Sugar-Free Cakes:

Apple-Pear Cake slice of cake on serving plate
Yield: 8 servings

Apple Pear Cake

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Apple Pear Cake is a delicious dessert made with white whole wheat flour, apples, pears, Golden Monkfruit Sweetener, pecans, and a touch of cinnamon!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 cup + 2 T Golden Monkfruit Sweetener
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt (I used fine grind sea salt)
  • 1 pear (see notes
  • 2 Granny Smith apples (see notes)
  • 3/4 cup pecans, chopped with chef’s knife
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil (see notes)
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk (plus more if needed)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C and spray a 9X9 inch pan with non-stick spray or oil (Or you can use an 8X8 inch pan and have the cake rise a bit above the top.)
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add white whole wheat flour, sweetener, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Mix together with large spoon until well-combined.
  3. Peel and grate apples and pear to make 2 cups grated fruit, then stir into dry ingredients, turning over several times until all the grated fruit is well-coated with the flour mixture.
  4. Measure 3/4 cup pecans and chop with chef’s knife, then add chopped pecans to the bowl with the flour/fruit mixture. Use the spoon to toss ingredients together.
  5. In a smaller bowl, add eggs, and beat with a fork about 30 seconds. Add oil and buttermilk, and stir together with the fork.
  6. Pour egg mixture into the other bowl with the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
  7. This mixture will be fairly stiff, but if it’s not wet enough to incorporate all the dry ingredients, add 1 T more buttermilk.
  8. Pour cake into oiled pan.
  9. Bake at 350F/175C for about 35 minutes, or until cake is nicely browned, is beginning to spring away from the sides of pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out completely clean. (For me, that was exactly 35 minutes.)
  10. Cool cake in the pan placed on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before cutting.
  11. This lasted several days in the refrigerator, but I did find it very hard to resist eating it for breakfast!

Notes

I used Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) for this recipe, but use any sweetener you prefer. Use any combination of apples and pears to make 2 cups grated fruit, grating with food processor recommended. I would use Avocado Oil (affiliate link) for this recipe, but use any neutral-flavored vegetable oil you have on hand.

This recipe was adapted from Garden Harvest Cake.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 244Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 47mgSodium 303mgCarbohydrates 23gFiber 5gSugar 6gProtein 5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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© Kalyn Denny
Category: Desserts and Baking
Apple-Pear Cake slice of cake on serving plate

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Obviously this Apple Pear Cake can’t be sugar free, because there’s natural sugar in the fruit, but it’s still pretty low in sugar for a dessert. I’d consider this a “once in a while treat” for the original South Beach Diet if you’re on phase two, or you could eat it more often for phase three. This recipe has about 18 net carbs, so it’s a splurge for a low-carb diet plan.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Dessert Recipes to find more recipes like this one Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This cake with pears and apples was first posted in 2009. The recipe was Pinterest image of Apple Pear Cake

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