Yogurt cake with pear and dark chocolate
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Author Notes: This is a pretty standard yogurt cake, but inspired by another French dessert - poires belle Helene (which I grew up calling paere bel helene, and thinking it was a Norwegian dessert) - I decided to pack it with chunks of pear and dark chocolate. It's an awfully dangerous cake to have around because you can convince yourself that a slice would be appropriate for breakfast, snack or dessert - especially with a little dollop of whipped cream, of course. - fiveandspice
Food52 Review: Fiveandspice's take on yogurt cake makes a great addition to any baked goods repertoire. The cake, which browns beautifully, has a moist, tender crumb, that contrasts nicely with the studs of slightly firm pear and dark chocolate. Depending on your oven, it may take a bit longer to cook than the time noted, so testing doneness with a toothpick is a must. And yes, it is awfully dangerous to have this cake around - it was gone before the end of the day. - Annie "Smalls" - Annie "Smalls"
Makes 1 9-inch loaf cake
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plain, whole milk yogurt
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 large pear, ripe but still firm, cored and cut into small pieces (leave the skin on)
- 1/2 cup bittersweet (dark) chocolate chunks (good quality, please)
- Preheat your oven to 350F and grease an 8 inch loaf pan with butter. In a small bowl combine all the dry ingredients (flour through salt). In medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in the yogurt. Then, stir in the dry ingredients, a bit at a time, until well blended. Finally, use a rubber scraper to fold the oil into the batter until it is fully incorporated.
- Pour about one-third of the batter into the greased loaf pan. Sprinkle 2/3s of the pear pieces and the chocolate chunks all over the batter. Then, scrape the rest of the batter on top of this and gently spread it smooth. Sprinkle the rest of the pear and chocolate over the top of the loaf and gently press all the pieces down into the batter to partially submerge them.
- Bake in the middle of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean – 55-60 minutes or so. Then, take the cake out of the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Carefully turn the cake out of the pan, and then put it upright on a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. The cake will keep for several days (refrigerate if it’s more than 2 days), and slices are delicious lightly toasted before eating. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Pears
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4 days ago Nargess
I have made this cake so many times now with different variations... ABSOLUTELY AMAZING every single time.. I've done White Chocolate and Cherry, as well as Dark Chocolate and Pistachio chunks! OMG! I have pics, don't know how to add them. I am still trying to make it Gluten Free, but haven't made one that I like yet.. when I do, I will share the GF version.
3 days ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Love! All of those variations sound absolutely fantastic!!!
3 months ago Nargess
I would love to make this again for a friend that is Gluten Free. Can anyone please help me to make it Gluten Free? How much of what flour can I replace the all purpose flour with? Thank you.
3 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
I'm afraid I don't really have any good suggestions since I'm not particularly good at gluten free baking. But, what I would do is look at a good gf baking book, and they usually have a recipe for an all-purpose gluten free flour blend somewhere near the start that gets used as the ap flour in everything. (It usually seems to involve brown rice flour, and xantham gum, and good stuff like that). If you wanted to, you could also potentially try buying a pre-mixed ap gf blend, like Thomas Keller's cup-for-cup, or I think King Arthur has a blend too.
3 months ago Nargess
Thank you so much for the suggestions. I have been doing some research and I think I can blend my own GF flour and when I do and make this GF I shall report back. Wish me luck and thank you. :-)
3 months ago adele93
there is a recipe: http://food52.com/recipes... that is GF and they just use GF AP flour
3 months ago Nargess
Thank you Adele I will have a look, but I don't have GF AP flour, I do have all the different GF flours and have researched how to mix them to make my own GF AP flour. thank you :)
3 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Definitely report back please! I'll be so interested to hear how it goes.
3 months ago Rebecca Cherry
The easiest way to do GF is to get an all purpose GF flour mix; that way your sub ratio is 1:1. Arrowhead Mills is the one i used when i made this, but i also like Pamela's and Craving Pantry. there are a ton others. for the best taste look for rice flour and/or sorghum flour based mixes. DO NOT USE garbanzo/chick pea based ones or, ones that are mostly starch based (yucky taste and consistency). Alternatively, you could look up GF baking websites and build your own mix but, that can get tricky, expensive, and time consuming.
3 months ago Nargess
I promise to report back as soon as I make it, I am aiming for next week. Rebecca, Thank you. I live in London and GF AP flour is crazy expensive, but I have found an asian store that sells them all separately very reasonable price and so I am going to attempt to make my own. I will definitely keep in mind your advice about the sorghum and rice flour. Thank you.
3 months ago Choco Especiarias
I just made (yesterday) a version of your cake for a family birthday, with "rocha" pear (portuguese), apples, dried apricot, fig and, of course, dark chocolate. I also used vegetable oil, instead of canola oil, and 2 Tbs of Porto wine, an mix the fruit with the batter. It was a complete success! At the end of the party, there are just crumbs... Thank you for this divine recipe!
3 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Mmmm. Sounds fabulous!
3 months ago adele93
they have just come out of the oven and my family are going mad over them!!! PERFECT, love the texture and the pear, i might try it with apple and white choc or mashed banana next time
3 months ago adele93
also i used salt reduced butter instead of canola oil and there was no difference
3 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Glad to hear it!
3 months ago Nargess
I made this yesterday and sub'd sour cream for the yogurt and used 2 eggs and it came out beautiful! The smell and taste of the dark chocolate against the pear, just divine. I would like to try it with pureed pear and see how it turns out. Thank you for the amazing combination and idea of this recipe. :-)
3 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Awesome!
3 months ago beegoode
I used 1.5 pears to add some extra pear goodness, and for the 1/2 a cup of oil I used 1/4 c vegetable oil and 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil since it was what I had on hand. I don't think a full 1/2 cup of oil is necessary for this cake, so next time I make this (and I'll be making it again!) I'm thinking of cutting the oil back to 1/3 of a cup, and using a mild olive oil, or subbing it for a 1/2 cup of pureed pear.
3 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Love the idea of using pureed pear. If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out.
4 months ago Arlenebdm
I made it with a ripe Comice pear and it came out like custard. Fabulous.
3 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Awesome!
4 months ago Rebecca Cherry
So many positive comments and deservedly so! here's what i did to this hard to mess up/easy to enjoy quick bread cake: Bosc pear (splendid), mix of butterscotch chips and extra dark chocolate chips (OMG, the butterscotch sends it over the top), homemade lactose free yogurt, fruity olive oil (one that has a sweet, lighter taste), walnut oil (because i didn't have enough olive oil), and gluten-free all purpose flour mix. the taste - absolutely amazing!!! served warm with hot chocolate hard to go wrong. the consistency - light and fluffy but, it split down the middle coming out of the pan. i would pass on to others, do what i did - especially the butterscotch chips and the oil choice; but, if using a GF mix, let it cool all the way in the pan.
3 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Such great tips!
4 months ago peggymchoe
I wondered if this makes a 9 inch loaf cake as the header says, or an 8 inch loaf cake, as step 1 in the instructions?
4 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Oh, thanks for noticing that discrepancy! I've baked it in both sizes, and it works in either. It just changes the baking time - which seems to vary a lot from oven to oven too. So, go with the toothpick test for checking to be sure it's done.
5 months ago crispylikechicken
I made these in muffin-form and they were adorable and delicious =)
5 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Perfect!
6 months ago Jazzball
If I use Greek yogurt should I add liquid?
6 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
I think it will actually be fine if you use Greek yogurt and make no other changes.
6 months ago Davis Bliss
I consider myself a relatively inexperienced baker (crostata, some cookes, cornbreadl but this recipe sounded too good not to try. Although it took a good forty minutes longer to bbake than the recipe said, the toothpick test proved successful & I was duly rewarded for my anxiety! Thank you for a wonderful cake!
6 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Isn't it funny how different the timing can be for different ovens?! I just had the same experience last week, actually, where the cake took almost 50 minutes longer than the recipe called for. The toothpick test is the way to go! :) So glad you enjoyed the cake!
7 months ago lexilarkin
what type of pear would you suggest using??
7 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
I've generally used Bartlett pears that were ripe but still firm. I bet Bosc would work well too.
7 months ago Franca
Made this last night. Scrumptious!
7 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Awesome!!!
9 months ago TheLearningCook
I made this last night. It was so delicious. I love that it is so adaptable. Thanks for the easy recipe!
9 months ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Wonderful! I'm glad it turned out so well. And you're right, it's super adaptable.
9 months ago TheLearningCook
Yep, tonight I am making it again but with apples and I had some mint dark chocolate so we'll see how it turns out. =)
about 1 year ago BavarianCook
What a great recipe. I just made it and have to admit, I had to substitute a couple of things that I did not have on hand. I used vanilla Greek yogurt in place of the plain and used a sautéed apple rather than pear (thought I had a pear left but didn't). Turned out beautifully! Very moist and it has a nice crumb. The "poire belle Helene" was also one of my favorite desserts as a child! Have not seen it much on menus in the States, and seem to just forget to make it myself. Will definitely try this recipe with pear next time. Thanks so much!
about 1 year ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
I'm happy you enjoyed it so much! It sounds quite lovely with your adaptations!
about 1 year ago BavarianCook
Believe it or not, I made it again today (by special request) and once again find myself pear-less. So this time I used a can of apricot halves and voila, another delicious result. This is just soooo good!
about 1 year ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
:)
over 1 year ago TheWimpyVegetarian
This was amazing, 5%S. I served this with dinner tonight and it was a solid hit!! I made some changes because I was cooking it at 7000 feet above sea level, and it was just perfect. So many people wanted the recipe at the end of the night. It's my new favorite cake. Happy Thanksgiving!
over 1 year ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Thank you CS! I'm absolutely thrilled you liked it. And quite impressed with your ability to bake at high altitudes! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
over 1 year ago cupcakemuffin
I really love this cake - have made it a couple of times now (it's perfect for using up plain yogurt and over-ripe pears, both of which I always seem to have too much of!) and it is SO delicious - thanks for sharing a great recipe!
over 1 year ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Thank you! I'm glad you like it so much. And especially glad that it makes a good home for your extra pears and yogurt!
over 1 year ago rlouisecull
This cake is so handsome! I made it last night with fat-free yogurt, because that's what was in the house, and I baked it in a round cake pan instead of a loaf pan. The rise was less impressive in the cake pan, but still, a beautiful and delicious cake! (Also, so very glad that I followed the recommendation to not feel guilty about eating this cake for breakfast - it has been the highlight of my day so far!) Thanks for sharing!
over 1 year ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
I'm so psyched to hear that! And, very, very happy that you threw aside any feelings of guilt and had it for breakfast. We're having company this weekend, and I think I'm putting this cake on the brunch menu!
over 1 year ago gingerroot
I made this very late last night and enjoyed some warm out of the oven and then again this morning with coffee. You are right, it was not at all difficult to convince myself that it can and should be enjoyed at any time of day. The contrast of the soft, sweet pears and dark chocolate is so good and to add the moist cake - yum. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
over 1 year ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it gingerroot! Hmmm, I wouldn't say no to a little piece right now (even though I just downed another gelato, oops!). :)