I’ve been thinking about pears and chocolate for some time now, waiting to be inspired into making use of the two ingredients. At first, I pondered a pain au choc and pear bread & butter pudding, but decided against it.
Then, one afternoon, it all became clear. What I really wanted in front of me, at precisely that time in the day, was warm cake and a dollop of extra thick cream.
If you’ve ever had such an acute craving, you’ll surely see the appeal of a caramelised pear and dark chocolate rye cake.
Feel free to enjoy the cake for that final push through an afternoon of work, accompanied by a similarly uplifting piece of music below.
Shopping list:
White rye flour x 150g
Plain flour x 50g
Unsalted butter (room temperature) x 80g
Golden caster sugar x 120g
Baking powder x 1 1/2 tsp
Dark chocolate 70% (roughly chopped into small chunks) x 70g
Large eggs x 4
Crème fraîche x 1 tbsp
Pinch of salt
Topping:
Ripe pears (thinly sliced on a mandolin) x 3/4
Dark muscavado sugar x 1 tbsp
Ground cinnamon x 1/2 tbsp
Set your oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C.
Mix together the muscavado sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and set aside.
Beat together the caster sugar and butter until pale. Gradually add the eggs and then the crème fraîche, beating until smooth and incorporated.
In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, and then slowly add this mixture to the other, beating constantly until fully mixed.
Pour the batter into a 20cm springform cake tin, and smooth the top with a pallet knife. Cover completely with the slices of pear, and then dust liberally and evenly with the cinnamon and muscavado sugar.
Bake in your hot oven for 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes, before serving warm with a dollop of cream or crème fraîche.
Enjoy!x
Food and Tunes 