Chocolate and Pear Cake
This Chocolate and Pear Cake was really something else - I’m usually not the biggest fan of pears in desserts but I must admit that after making and trying this cake I completely changed my mind. The chocolate and pear mix so well together and the pear adds an additional texture and taste which makes everything taste so great. The prep time for this cake is only at 20 minutes, which means you can quickly make it, toss it in the oven and then return to check on it.
The recipe itself is very easy, you will only have to make 2 decisions when making this cake:
1) What do I poach my pears with? We used Grand Marnier but you can use Cider or Cognac
2) What pears should I buy? Use pears that are not too mushy to begin with, rather pears that are a bit harder like Williams or Bosc. Worry not if you can’t find these exact pears in your supermarket just make sure that the pears you buy are not too ripe and not too soft. Another thing to take into consideration when buying pears is their size. We like to buy tall and “skinnier” pears rather than short and “fat” as this will make it easier to push them into the cake mixture and you will be sure that the stem won’t be covered by cake.
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients for the pears:
Grand Marnier / Cider / Cognac - 300mL / 1¼ cups (you can use either of the 3)
Pears - 4
Sugar - 100 g / ½ cups
For the cake:
Butter (softened) - 175 g / ¾ oz
Sugar - 160 g / ¾ cups
Eggs - 3 Medium
Flour - 175 g / 1⅓ cups
Baking Powder - 1 Tbs
Dark Chocolate - 100 g / 3½ oz
For the topping (optional):
Milk Chocolate - 150 g / 6 oz
Preparation:
We start by poaching the pears. Peel the pears, gently make a hole on the bottom of each pear and cut out the insides (make sure you are not breaking the steam and it stays intact). There will be a hole at the bottom of your pears which is perfectly normal.
In a pan put the grand marnier / cognac or cider along with the sugar and heat at low/medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Once the sugar has dissolved you can place your pears in the pan and poach for 20 minutes at low/medium heat - they need to be tender not mushy. Make sure you check on them while they are cooking and turn them once or twice in order to really poach the entire pear.
Once the 20 minutes are over and your pears are tender you can remove them from the heat and leave them to rest.
We now pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
Take your chocolate and melt it using the bain-marie method.
In a bowl add the butter and sugar and beat well, you should be getting a fluffy consistency. Now add in one egg at a time and keep mixing.
Now add the flour and baking powder and mix in by hand, also add the melted chocolate and keep mixing. You should get a homogenous mixture.
Take a cake mould and grease it with butter, also sprinkle some flour and make sure the entire mould is covered with a thin layer of butter/flower (this will keep the cake from sticking).
Take your mixture and pour it into the cake mould making sure it’s evenly spread out. Now take your pears, dry them on some kitchen paper and push them into the cake mixture (not until the bottom but almost). The stems should be looking out.
Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes at 180°C / 350°F - always check with a toothpick (poke the cake and see if the toothpick comes out clean and if it’s still wet and raw then keep the cake in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
Once your toothpick comes out dry remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool.
As a bonus step - take your second portion of chocolate and melt it using the bain-marie method and drizzle it over the top of the cake.