Decadent Holiday Desserts: Dark Chocolate and Pear Cake Recipe

This post written by our resident Farm Foodie – Debra Dubief

This delicious pear and chocolate cake sounds harder than it is. Two things to remember: beat the eggs long enough until they are thick and pale yellow before adding the browned butter and flour, and make sure your cake is fully-baked before removing from the oven. If removed to early, your cake may fall and you will be sad. Read tips below for more specifics on how to avoid this.

Dark Chocolate and Pear Cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
3 eggs, at room-temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 pears, peeled, cored and cut into roughly 1/2 inch chunks (both Bosc and d’Anjou work well)
4 1/2 ounces of your favorite dark chocolate, chopped into roughly 1/2 inch chunks

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch spring-form pan and dust with flour.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a standing mixer, whip eggs until pale and very thick, about 7-10 minutes. Add sugar to eggs and whip until well incorporated, another 2-3 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium heat and cook until milk solids begin to brown, scraping occasionally to cook evenly. Let cool to room temperature.

When cool, with mixer on low, add flour mixture and butter, alternating between the two, in thirds. Whisk until barely combined, then use a spatula to fold until combined. It is very important not to over-whisk or over-fold the batter or it will lose volume.

Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with pear and chocolate chunks.

Bake until golden brown and cake springs bake when lightly pressed, about 40-50 minutes.

Test with a toothpick or wooden skewer in the center. When removed clean it is done. Let cool and serve with whipped cream.