Pear Gingerbread Custard Cakes
I decided to use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour for the cake this time. If you do not have that, you can substitute cake flour or plain flour in the same quantity. Serves: 8 Individual Cakes
Ingredients:
For the Gingerbread Cake:
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 1¾ cup (210g)
Light Brown Sugar ¼ cup (50g)
Fresh Ginger 1 teaspoon *if you do not have fresh ginger, add another teaspoon ground ginger
Ground Ginger 1 Tablespoon
Nutmeg ¼ teaspoon
Cloves ¼ teaspoon
Cinnamon ¼ teaspoon
Salt ½ teaspoon
Egg Replacer (I am using The Plant Based Egg by Freely Vegan) 2 teaspoons
Baking Soda 1 ½ teaspoons
Molasses ½ cup (118ml)
Unsweetened Applesauce ½ cup (118ml)
Vegetable or Coconut Oil 6 Tablespoons (90ml)
Boiling Water ½ cup (118ml)
For the Pear Compote:
3 Medium Bartlett Pears, peeled, cored, and chopped (about 2½ cups)
Sugar 2 Tablespoons
Cinnamon 1 teaspoon
Raisins ½ cup
White Wine, Brandy, or Apple Juice ½ cup (118ml) 
Vegan Butter 2 Tablespoons (28g)
For the Custard:
Plant Milk (I use soy milk) 1¼ cup (296ml)
Granulated Sugar ¾ cup (150g)
Agar Powder ¼ teaspoon
Vegan Cream Cheese 1-8oz Package (226g)
Vegan Butter 1 Tablespoon
Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons (10ml)
½ Recipe Vegan Ganache
½ Recipe Buttercream
Cinnamon 1 teaspoon
Nutmeg ½ teaspoon
Clove ⅛ teaspoon
Ginger ¼ teaspoon
Solid Pumpkin ¼ cup
Instructions:
First, prepare the gingerbread cake by preheating your oven to 350°F.
Grease and parchment line a 9″ X 12″ sheet pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, spices, salt, and egg replacer and whisk to combine well.
In another bowl, combine the boiling water, molasses, fresh ginger, oil, and applesauce and whisk together.
Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and whisk just to combine, do not over whip.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake immediately for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs.
Cool the cake while you prepare the pear compote.
Soak the raisins in your liquid of choice from the above recipe.
Peel, core, and small dice the pears.
In a heavy-bottom saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the vegan butter. Add the pears, sugar, and cinnamon, and stir while cooking over high heat. Once the pears start to caramelize, add the raisins and their soaking liquid and then add the other tablespoon of vegan butter. Cook until tender. Prepare the buttercream as per the instructions on that blog post and add the pumpkin and spices at the last stage of mixing.
Prepare the vegan ganache and set aside until needed. Next, prepare the custard by combining the plant milk, vegan cream cheese, sugar, and agar in a heavy-bottom sauce pot. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until smooth. When it comes to a light boil, add the vegan butter and vanilla extract. Remove from heat and pour into silicone molds (I am using 3″ diameter sphere molds). Refrigerate the custards until set. Meanwhile, cut out the gingerbread cake rounds and use the scraps for the pear-shaped cake pop toppers by adding about ¾ cup of pumpkin buttercream and mixing to combine. Take about 1 teaspoon of the cake pop mixture and form them into pear shapes.
Refrigerate until cold, then dip them into melted vegan white chocolate. I made a paste of spirulina and water to color the chocolate pears once they were set. A chocolate stem and a tiny oregano leaf for the garnish. Once all your components are ready, assemble the desserts as shown in the video. The custards should pop right out of the silicone molds if they are set to firm. If they seem too fragile, you can freeze them for about a half hour to make it easier.
