Romanian Pear Walnut Cake (vegan, easy)
This rustic walnut cake is almost equal parts juicy pears, crunchy nuts, and tender, rum-scented dough—crowned with just a hint of lemon.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 200 g vegan butter, softened (or margarine)
- 125 g sugar
- 1 small very ripe banana, peeled & mashed (used as egg replacer)
- 4 tablespoons vegan milk
- 1 tablespoon rum or cognac (or ½ teaspoon rum flavoring)
- Zest of 1 small lemon
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
For the Topping
- 1 kg pears, quartered, cored, and sliced*
- 200 g walnuts coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons sugar**
For Dusting
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour your springform pan.
- Prepare the pears: Wash, quarter, core, and slice them thinly.
- Make the batter: Beat vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in banana, oat milk, rum, and lemon zest.
- Combine dry ingredients: In another bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and vanilla powder. Add to the wet mix and stir until just combined.
- Assemble: Spread half the batter in the pan. Layer with pears, sprinkle with walnuts and 2 tablespoon sugar.
- Top it off: Spoon the rest of the batter over, leaving some walnuts peeking through for rustic charm.
- Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool completely, then dust with powdered sugar.Tip: Serve with vegan whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream for extra indulgence. Yum!
Notes
* You can replace half with peeled apples for a pear–apple mix
**Skip the sugar and add the same amount of apricot or plum jam under the fruit for a richer flavor (very Romanian!).