Flourless Chocolate & Pear Cake with Chantilly Cream
If you love chocolate, this cake is a must-try! It's got a deep chocolate flavor, balanced by the sweetness of pears. The texture is almost fudgy. Serve it warm with a dollop of whipped cream for the ultimate cozy treat.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- A little caster sugar (superfine) to line the sides of the tin
- 3.5 oz butter, plus extra for greasing
- 3.5 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon brandy optional
- 3 large eggs separated
- 3.5 oz caster sugar, plus extra for tin
- 4 ripe but firm, pears*
- 3.5 oz packet ground almonds (almond meal)
- 2 tablespoons apricot jam
- 1 teaspoon brandy optional
For the Chantilly cream:
- 10.1 fl oz heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To serve:
- icing sugar (confectioner's sugar) to serve
- Optional: Raw chocolate sauce
Instructions
For the cake
- Set the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter a 23-25cm (9-10 inch) cake or flan tin** and put a disc of baking parchment in the base. Spoon in a little caster sugar to coat the inside of the tin, then tip out the excess.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together, in a bowl over a pan of hot water or in a microwave oven. Add the brandy, and let the mixture sit to cool a little.
- Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy and a trail can be seen in the mixture when the whisk is lifted up.
- To prepare the pears, peel them with a vegetable peeler and then halve them. Use a melon baller, or a teaspoon, to scoop out the pips in the centre.
- Fold the melted chocolate mixture along with the ground almonds into the whisked egg-yolk mixture – the mixture will come together in a fairly stiff ball.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they’re stiff. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of the egg whites fairly vigorously into the chocolate mixture, to loosen it up.
- Add the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture and carefully fold in using a large metal spoon or spatula, taking care not to overwork it or the air will be lost and the sponge won’t rise as much.
- Pour the mixture gently into the tin, and arrange the pear halves on top, with the cut-side down (these will sink as the cake bakes).
- Bake cake in the centre of the oven for 45 mins to 1 hour, or until it’s set in the centre (use a skewer to test). Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring it to a wire rack.
- Press the apricot jam through a sieve, add the brandy (if using) and warm in the microwave to make it easy to brush over the cake. Brush it over the cake while it’s still hot. Let the cake cool (it can be served warm or at room temperature).
For the Chantilly cream:
- Add cream, sieved icing sugar and vanilla extract into a mixer bowl and beat until it has soft peaks.
To serve:
- Serve with a dollop of Chantilly cream and dust the cake with icing sugar, if you like. I also drizzled over some Raw Chocolate Sauce.
Notes
* You may not need all four pears, depending on their size.
** A spring-form tin is easiest for this recipe, however you can use a standard ceramic flan tin (as I did). To get the cake out, I laid a wide folded piece of parchment across the bottom of the tin and out over the sides so that I could lift the cake safely out after it had baked.
** A spring-form tin is easiest for this recipe, however you can use a standard ceramic flan tin (as I did). To get the cake out, I laid a wide folded piece of parchment across the bottom of the tin and out over the sides so that I could lift the cake safely out after it had baked.
Nutrition
Calories: 338kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 4gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 131mgSodium: 118mgPotassium: 155mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 967IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how if you liked it in the comments below!