Gluten-Free Pear, Pistachio and Rose Cake

For the Cake:

• Butter, for greasing
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup shelled pistachios
• 1 lb. (approximately 3) thin-skinned ripe pears (or apples)  cored and cut into chunks, skin on
• 2 cups fine almond flour
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp. rosewater
• 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. almond or vanilla extract

For the Topping:

• 3 Tbsp. apricot preserves
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. rosewater
• Chopped pistachios
• Edible rose petals
• 1 can coconut cream (not sweetened, not “lite,” refrigerated overnight)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease the sides of a 9-inch springform cake pan and line the base with parchment paper. Put the sugar and 1 cup of pistachios into a food processor and process  until the pistachios are finely ground. Add the remaining cake ingredients and blend until smooth with pears well blended into the batter. Scrape batter into the baking pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. The cake’s done when it begins to pull away at the edges.

Place on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan; it will sink a little. When the cake is completely cold, unclip the pan, remove the base and transfer to a cake stand or plate.

Mix the preserves, lemon juice, and rosewater together in a cup and brush the glaze over the surface of the cake. Scatter with chopped  pistachios and rose petals. Whip the coconut milk and add 2 Tbsp. honey and 1 Tbsp. rosewater. Serve with cake.