Flourless Chocolate and Pear Cake
Serves: 8 - 10
Preparation: NA
Cooking Time: NA
A light yet rich chocolate cake, made fruity with the inclusion of pears. Contrasting tastes and textures made this cake a real treat, and without any gluten!
Ingredients
- 100g butter (plus extra for greasing)
- 100g Co-operative Fairtrade golden caster sugar
- 100g dark chocolate
- 3 eggs, separated
- 100g hazelnuts, ground
- 4 ripe pears (in half peeled and cored)
Method
- Grease and line with baking paper the base of a cake tin measuring 25cm.
- Pre heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. When smooth, take off the heat and cool.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and thick.
- Add the hazelnuts and melted chocolate to the egg yolk mixture and stir everything together.
- In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form a soft peak.
- Stir a spoonful of the egg whites into the chocolate mix, and fold the rest of the egg whites in half at a time.
- When combined, pour the mixture into the cake tin, and place the pears on top, cut side down.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until the pears are tender and the cake is cooked throughout.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack and serve with fresh cream or dusted with icing sugar.
