Oh… my… goodness…this Paleo Caramelized Pear and Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake is UNREAL.

In this recipe, sweet pears are cooked to caramelized perfection, and are then mixed into a dark chocolate chip cake batter (made with almond flour and coconut flour) and cooked until the smell makes it too hard to wait any longer…

Paleo Caramelized Pear and Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake (GF)--- what more do you need in a dessert?!| Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

I mean, chocolate and pears… is there a better combination?!

I think this might be my new favorite paleo grain-free loaf recipe, and I didn't even mean to make it!

Why is it that sometimes your best recipes are the ones that weren't planned?

That certainly was the case here as my only plan was to cook three small pears that were looking a bit sad on the kitchen counter.

Paleo Caramelized Pear and Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake (GF)--- what more do you need in a dessert?!| Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

I mixed the diced pears with some nutmeg and cinnamon and let them simmer.

However, as they cooked, they started to caramelize.

A beautiful brown caramel started to form on the sides, and the smell of caramelized pears filled my kitchen and inspired me to put them into something… should it be cookies? Or brownies?? No… a cake!

A paleo cake, of course. In the shape of a loaf, of course.

Paleo Caramelized Pear and Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake (GF)--- what more do you need in a dessert?!| Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

I wasn't really sure what direction I'd go, but I was "in the zone" of baking creativity so I just went with it.

I looked to my chocolate chip banana bread recipe as inspiration and I took out one banana and the coconut oil and used olive oil instead. Olive oil just seemed to go better with pears. I mean, have you ever had pears in a salad? Enough said.

I folded some chocolate chips into the batter. I used Enjoy Life, but have recently been told that there is a fully Paleo chocolate out there called Zimt! I'm excited to try it.

Then I folded in the caramelized pears, put the batter into a loaf tin, and topped it with some diced pears.

Paleo Caramelized Pear and Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake (GF)--- what more do you need in a dessert?!| Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

And then, I waited. The smell of this Paleo Caramelized Pear and Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake cooking was divine. If I didn't know better, I'd think that caramel was cooking on the stove top.

I had to take mine out of the oven at 31 minutes, but my stove cooks way more quickly and powerfully than it should so I recommend you keep on eye on yours, and aim to cook it for around 40 minutes.

You should be able to stick a knife into the loaf and no batter should stick to it (melted chocolate, yes, but not batter).

I did the calculations and if you cut this loaf into 10 slices, it's about 155 calories a slice. 🙂

Paleo Caramelized Pear and Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake ( GF)

  • 3 pears, , peeled and diced (this should equal a heaping 2 cups of diced pears, if you have large pears this may only be 2 pears)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 6 Tbs water
  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour, (Nutiva is my favorite)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbs honey
  • 1/4 cup canned coconut cream, (Savoy has no preservatives and tastes great)
  • 1 banana, , mashed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 cup enjoy life mini chocolate chips, (Enjoy life or Zimt)

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  • Line a loaf tin (mine was 8 in x 4 in) with wax paper.

  • Put a heaping 2 cups of diced pears into a pan. ( This can be 3 small pears or 2 big pears) Top the pears with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg and cook over medium heat, stirring every so often. After about 8 minutes, add 2 Tbs of water and 1 tsp of vanilla to the pears. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring often, and then add another 2 Tbs of water. Cook for another 3 minutes, stirring often, and then add another 2 Tbs of water. Then cook for another 3-5 minutes, until you notice the pears start to caramelize and there is an almost syrup like consistency. Turn off the heat and set the pears aside.

  • In a large bowl, mix 3/4 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup coconut flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt with a fork. Set the bowl aside.

  • In another bowl, mix 2 eggs, 2 Tbs honey, 1/4 cup coconut cream, 1 mashed banana and 2 Tbs olive oil together with an electric mixer until well mixed.

  • Put bowl 1 into bowl 2 and mix with an electric mixer.

  • Fold the ½ cup of chocolate chips into the batter. Then fold the caramelized pears to the batter.

  • Pour the batter into a lined loaf pan and then pat the top of the batter with a spoon to make sure it is flat. Place some diced pears on top of the batter.

  • Bake for 35- 40 minutes, until golden and set. When you stab the loaf with a knife, it should come out clean (or with only melted chocolate)