I drew inspiration for this recipe for a pear and dark chocolate cake from a recipe in the famous book Les Cakes de Sophie, Sophie Dudemaine, Minerva, 160 pages.
The pears, poached with a touch of rum, are perfectly tender, and their flavor blends beautifully with that of the soft chocolate batter that serves as their base.
The crushed hazelnuts, toasted during baking, add a delightful crunch and richness to this delicious pastry!
Great recipe, thank you!
The juiciness of the pear pairs perfectly with the richness of the chocolate.
One slice isn’t enough—we’re having seconds!
For poaching the pears, I substituted vanilla for the rum.
Two out of three of my pears were very ripe and quite soft, which worked perfectly well too (though I couldn’t keep the tops of the ripe pears for decoration—they were too soft). And the two pear tops I placed on top of the cake sank a little into the cake while baking (maybe you need to keep the pieces large enough).
As for the baking time, it took 1 hour and 5 minutes for the batter to bake through…
And when slicing, the top of the cake comes away easily from the rest of the cake; I don’t know why (not baked long enough?)
The hazelnuts on top complement this cake nicely (but I should look for other topping ideas).
A few small notes on the recipe:
The step “Cut the pears into pieces” is repeated in steps 2) and 4)
In step 6), I would add “… and place the pear halves on top”
Yum, this cake looks delicious 😋 Thanks, Micka, for this detailed review! The decoration with the pears is pretty, but there are some tricks to keep them from falling off… dust the pear tops with flour or cocoa so they "stick" better to the batter, and/or add them partway through baking… If I try this cake again or if someone else tries these methods, I’ll update the recipe!
As for the baking time, it can depend on the oven setting (convection or standard), but there is quite a difference compared to the time I listed… Maybe also bake it a little less time to prevent the top from getting too hard? And bake it on the lower rack (2nd rack) if you aren’t already doing that?
I’ve corrected the repetition in the recipe—thanks again 🙏