Chocolate Pear Cake

Ingredients

• 140 g butter
• 200 g coconut sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 280 g spelt whole‑grain flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1.5 tsp Baking Powder
• a pinch of salt
• 120 ml milk (3.5% fat)
• 50 ml lemon juice
• 5 pears
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 1 star anise
• 20 g cornstarch (1 tbsp)
• 120 g dark chocolate
• 150 ml whipping cream
• 3 egg whites

Instructions

1. 1.

   Beat butter with 120 g coconut sugar until fluffy and gradually fold in the eggs. Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder and a pinch of salt; alternately stir in 120 ml milk into the butter mixture. Pour batter into a parchment‑lined springform pan and bake at 180 °C (160 °C fan) for 25–30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove cake and let cool completely on a wire rack.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile whisk lemon juice with 200 ml water, add spices and 60 g coconut sugar in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Peel, halve and core the pears; place them in the spice broth and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool in the broth. Take out the pears and drain. Strain the broth through a sieve and measure 250 ml.

3. 3.

   Whisk cornstarch with a little pear broth until smooth. Bring the remaining broth to a boil, stir in the starch mixture and simmer for about half a minute. Arrange the pears on top of the cake, pouring the broth over them. Let set firm and cold.

4. 4.

   Meanwhile chop 100 g chocolate and melt it over a hot but not boiling water bath. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Whip the cream with remaining coconut sugar and beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form separately.

5. 5.

   Fold the whipped cream into the melted chocolate, then fold in the beaten egg whites. Spread the mixture over the pears, smoothing it out, and chill for 2 hours. Before serving grate the remaining chocolate and sprinkle chocolate shavings over the cake.