Make Ahead

Chocolate Studded Pear Cake

November 10, 2010
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

This cake combines the flavors of browned butter, pears and bittersweet chocolate. This elegant, not too sweet cake deserves the best ingredients. I use Callebaut chocolate and prefer the flavor of heavy cream that has not been ulta-pastuerized. —Carol Egbert

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 Bosc pears
  • 4.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350º. Butter and flour a nine-inch spring form pan.
  2. Peel pears and cut into small dice.
  3. Chop chocolate into small chunks.
  4. Brown butter, by cooking over medium heat for about seven minutes. Stir the butter occasionally, remove from heat and set aside to cool when the milk solids have become lightly browned and the butter has a nutty scent.
  5. Use a whisk to combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
  6. Beat eggs with an electric mixer for about ten minutes at high speed until the eggs are pale yellow and very thick.
  7. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating for another minute.
  8. Use a spatula to fold in a third of the flour mixture, half of the browned butter, another third of the flour, the remaining butter and flour.
  9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top it with the pear and chocolate pieces.
  10. Bake cake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean and the cake has begun to pull away from the side of the pan.
  11. Serve slices of the cake with heavy cream that has been beaten until it is stiff.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Carol Egbert
    Carol Egbert
  • SallyCan
    SallyCan

3 Reviews

Carol E. November 14, 2010
I hope you try it.
 
SallyCan November 14, 2010
I will, hopefully this week :)
 
SallyCan November 12, 2010
So glad you posted this! When I saw it on your blog, I thought it looked so good, simple and delicious.