Chocolate Pear Cake

Ingredients

• 240 g whole wheat flour (and a little more for dusting the pan)
• 140 g coconut palm sugar
• 100 g butter (plus extra for greasing the pan)
• 4 eggs
• 1 pinch salt
• 5 pears
• 50 g dark chocolate (70 % cocoa content)
• 50 ml espresso (hot)
• 1 Vanilla bean
• 100 g ground hazelnut kernels
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 50 g dark couverture chocolate
• legumes for blind‑baking

Instructions

1. 1.

   Knead 200 g flour, 60 g coconut palm sugar, butter, one egg and a pinch of salt into dough; wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hour.

2. 2.

   Grease a 26 cm tart pan with butter and dust with flour. Line the pan with dough, shaping a 5 cm high edge. Cover the dough with parchment paper, add legumes on top, and bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan; gas: level 3) for about 15 minutes. Remove, discard parchment and legumes, and let cool.

3. 3.

   Meanwhile wash, peel, core and halve the pears. Poach them in a little water over low heat for about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

4. 4.

   Melt chocolate in espresso for the filling. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.

5. 5.

   Whisk remaining eggs with the rest of the coconut palm sugar until frothy, then fold in the vanilla seeds and the espresso‑chocolate mixture. Mix in nuts, remaining flour and baking powder, and combine gently.

6. 6.

   Place pears on the pre‑baked dough, spread the chocolate‑nut mixture over them, and distribute evenly. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan; gas: level 3) for about 40 minutes. Remove, cool, and carefully lift out of the pan.

7. 7.

   Melt couverture chocolate over a hot water bath. Pour into a freezer bag, cut off a small corner, and decorate the cake with fine lines.