Pears and chocolate are a delicious combination. The pears, standing like little soldiers to attention, are embedded in this cake which makes for a pretty stunning presentation.
Pear, Hazelnut and Chocolate Cake
Serves 10
10 small corella pears
1 litre sugar syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 vanilla bean, split
Peel and remove the hard core at the base of each pear. Immediately place them in a large saucepan with the sugar syrup, lemon juice and vanilla bean. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes or until the pears are just tender. Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool thoroughly.
Continue to simmer the syrup until the liquid is reduced by half. Set aside.
Cake
80 gm hazelnuts, lightly roasted
80 gm dark couverture chocolate
175 gm unsalted butter, cubed and softened
150 gm caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
275 gm Revenge GF Almond Plain Flour Mix(see below)
2 teaspoons GF baking powder
2 tablespoons sour cream
3 tablespoons milk
Pre-heat oven to 175°C. Grease a 22cm spring-form cake tin and line it with baking paper.
Chop the chocolate and hazelnuts in a food processor until they form small pieces. Do not over process or you will end up with a paste.
Cream butter and sugar until pale.
Add egg yolks one at a time and beat until well combined. Add the vanilla. Then fold in the flour mix, baking powder, the hazelnuts and chocolate mix, gradually adding 30ml poaching syrup, the sour cream and milk as the batter thickens.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. With a metal spoon stir a large spoonful of egg whites into the cake mix and then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites.
Spoon the mix into the cake tin and smooth the surface.
Place the pears at regular intervals into the cake mix, pressing them down a little into the mix.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a testing skewer comes out clean. If browning too quickly put a piece of crumpledfoil over the top of the cake.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then brush some of the reserved syrup over the cake. You may not need all the syrup.
Serve with cream or a pear sorbet.
Revenge Gluten-free Almond Plain Flour Mix
280 gm almond meal
210 gm besan flour
280 gm fine white rice flour
175 gm corn flour
Mix up a batch and store in the fridge