Chocolate and pear dessert cake
Pears are abundant at the moment, and being given some is a special treat! A friend had a crop from her tree that was impossible to get through on her own. Lucky for me!
Obviously the best way to eat pears is fresh from the tree, perfectly ripe so that the juice dribbles down your chin - heaven! But once that moment is lost, a pear can become soft and over ripe very quickly. This is the time to use it in a recipe, which is why I found myself thinking about pear sponges and custard.
R doesn't like pears much, so using a halved pear in a sponge wouldn't go down a treat. Chopped pear was the answer. As for the sponge, well, I didn't really want to make a normal sponge mix, so opted for a cupcake mix on a bigger scale (but also allowing enough for half a dozen cupcakes too - there is butter icing in the freezer and I need the space). Chocolate and pear is a traditional pairing.
My base cupcake mix comes from a book I was given by a little girl I taught about 6 or 7 years ago - cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans - it has been my basic recipe since then, although I tweak it all the time to suit what I am making. The measures are in cups rather than grams or ounces, so I invested in some cup measures to help. The book itself is a bible of the best type of intricate or spectacular cupcakes to fit every occasion. A book for long days inside, baking treats for your family...
Chocolate and pear dessert cake
2 large pears, peeled and sliced
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder - I use Green and Blacks, which gives a lovely dark colour. In France I can get a really good Suchard one. Worth picking up if you are doing a Christmas booze trip! ;-)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup corn oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and salt.
In the bowl of a food mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until they are light in colour and smooth.
On a low speed, gradually add the oil and vanilla, and then spoon in the sour cream until completely blended in.
Finally, add the flour mix a spoon at a time until the batter is smooth and glossy.
Place the sliced pear in the bottom of a greased baking tin (22cm square), and then pour out the cake mix over the pears.
You can use the whole mix, or like me, can save some for cupcakes. My cake ended up being about 3-4 cm thick once cooked, although it doesn't rise that much.
Bake at 200 C for 30 mins, or until cooked in the centre and shrinking away from the sides of the tin slightly.
Tip out onto a cooling rack upside down and allow to cool, or serve warm with ice cream or custard.
Obviously the best way to eat pears is fresh from the tree, perfectly ripe so that the juice dribbles down your chin - heaven! But once that moment is lost, a pear can become soft and over ripe very quickly. This is the time to use it in a recipe, which is why I found myself thinking about pear sponges and custard.
R doesn't like pears much, so using a halved pear in a sponge wouldn't go down a treat. Chopped pear was the answer. As for the sponge, well, I didn't really want to make a normal sponge mix, so opted for a cupcake mix on a bigger scale (but also allowing enough for half a dozen cupcakes too - there is butter icing in the freezer and I need the space). Chocolate and pear is a traditional pairing.
My base cupcake mix comes from a book I was given by a little girl I taught about 6 or 7 years ago - cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans - it has been my basic recipe since then, although I tweak it all the time to suit what I am making. The measures are in cups rather than grams or ounces, so I invested in some cup measures to help. The book itself is a bible of the best type of intricate or spectacular cupcakes to fit every occasion. A book for long days inside, baking treats for your family...
Chocolate and pear dessert cake
2 large pears, peeled and sliced
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder - I use Green and Blacks, which gives a lovely dark colour. In France I can get a really good Suchard one. Worth picking up if you are doing a Christmas booze trip! ;-)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup corn oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb and salt.
In the bowl of a food mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until they are light in colour and smooth.
On a low speed, gradually add the oil and vanilla, and then spoon in the sour cream until completely blended in.
Finally, add the flour mix a spoon at a time until the batter is smooth and glossy.
Place the sliced pear in the bottom of a greased baking tin (22cm square), and then pour out the cake mix over the pears.
You can use the whole mix, or like me, can save some for cupcakes. My cake ended up being about 3-4 cm thick once cooked, although it doesn't rise that much.
Bake at 200 C for 30 mins, or until cooked in the centre and shrinking away from the sides of the tin slightly.
Tip out onto a cooling rack upside down and allow to cool, or serve warm with ice cream or custard.
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| Upside down pear cake and the bonus cupcakes! |
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| Dust with icing sugar to serve... |
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