National Baking Week - Pear & Chocolate Cake!
19/10/2016
Howdy fellow bakers! Here's the first of our recipes we're sharing this week in celebration of National Baking Week...
Take it away Kath, what are we baking today?
Pear & Chocolate Cake – best served warm with a spoonful of vanilla ice-cream or clotted cream, delicious!
What you'll need:
Loaf tin 20 cm x 10 cm – greased & lined.
Heat oven 180 C fan
Recipe:
The pears...
- Peel, core & halve 2 conference pears long.
- Dissolve 200g of golden granulated sugar in 500ml water in a saucepan that allows the pears to sit tightly in the bottom without too much space between
- Add the zest & juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange
- Add 1 stick of cinnamon or spice of your choice – star anise, all spice, cloves all work well
- Poach the pears for about 15 minutes or until tender
The cake...
- Cream 225g of softened butter with 225g golden caster sugar by hand or in a mixer
- Weigh 225g self-raising flour
- Beat 4 eggs & add gradually to the butter and sugar mix with the whisk on a low speed
- If the mix starts to split add a small amount of the flour and carry on mixing
- Add the remainder of the flour in small stages using the paddle attachment, without over mixing – this keeps the air in & helps create a light sponge
- Roughly chop the cooled poached pears & gently fold into the cake mix
- Fold through 100g of best quality dark chocolate drops
- Pour mix into lined tin and bake in oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until a metal skewer comes out clean from the centre of the cake
Cool if you like, or slice & eat straight away :)
I don't know about you but my tummy is rumbling away now! Let us know in the comments below if you do give this a go! We'd love to see your baking snaps :)