Bright red leaves covering the trees, afternoon goûters to pack for school… autumn is in the air! I’m the kind of person who loves the change of season, all the more after the exceptionally long and warm summer we enjoyed in Finland. To me, autumn means the return of knit jumpers, long walks in the forest, breathing the musty smell of fallen leaves, then cozying up at home, with a hot cup of my favorite ginger tea and a large slice of (chocolate) cake.
I’m surely not the only one who starts craving chocolate as soon as the air gets chilly and days shorten? In fact, this chocolate cake is my go-to recipe, every time I wish for an indulgent and healthy treat. I use creamy coconut milk in place of butter, and coconut sugar as sweetener. I usually top the cake with a chocolate ganache, but today I chose to pair it with seasonal pears.
I poached pears in vanilla, and placed the pear halves in a way that’s reminiscent of the Bourdaloue pie – a classic of French pâtisserie, where finely sliced pears are placed star-shaped on top of almond cream (I certainly should share this recipe some day too!). I also borrowed a tip from the pastry chef Pierre Hermé, and added a hint of fleur de sel to enhances the dark chocolate flavor.
When the idea of this chocolate and pear cake popped in my mind, I felt that a crunchy touch would make it perfect. That’s how I came up with caramelized hazelnuts: a handful of chopped hazelnuts, a spoon of maple syrup and fifteen minutes in the oven, that’s all it takes. Totally worth the tiny extra effort, so don’t skip it! You’ll know what I mean once you take your first bite, when the moelleux of the cake meets juicy pears and the crunchy caramelized bits of hazelnuts… miam!
- 5 eggs
- 150 g dark chocolate (I used 70%)
- 200 ml full fat coconut milk
- 100 g coconut sugar
- 20 g coconut flour
- 50 g potato starch
- 4 small pears
- 150 g (muscovado) sugar
- 1 vanilla pod grated (or ½ tsp vanilla powder)
- 40 g chopped hazelnuts
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Fleur de sel (optional)
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
- Poach the pears: In a large saucepan just large enough to hold the pears, heat 750ml water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Grate the vanilla pod and place the seeds and pod in the saucepan.
- Peel the pears. Place them into the syrup. Cook about 15 minutes until the pears are soft but not falling apart.
- Drain the pears, cut them in halves and remove the core. Slice them finely.
- Prepare the chocolate cake base: Melt 150 g chocolate over a bain-marie, stirring occasionally. Add a pinch of fleur de sel.
- Separate egg yolk and the whites. Whisk egg yolks and coconut sugar. Stir in the coconut milk, add the mix of coconut flour and potato starch. Whisk further until well combined.
- Blend the melted chocolate in.
- Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Add delicately to the chocolate batter with a spatula. Transfer batter to a pan, greased with coconut oil.
- Place the pears halves on top of the cake and gently submerge them.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted near the center comes out mostly clean.
- Caramelized hazelnuts: Mix the chopped hazelnuts with the maple syrup and pour on top of parchment paper. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Let the caramelized hazelnuts cool down and use them as topping for the cake.
- 5 oeufs
- 150 g chocolat noir (j'utilise du 70%)
- 200 g de lait de coco (voir note)
- 100 g sucre de coco
- 20 g farine de coco
- 50 g fécule de pomme de terre ou maïs
- 4 petites poires
- 150g sucre (muscovado de préférence)
- 1 gousse de vanille grattée (ou ½ cc vanille en poudre)
- 40 g noisettes concassées
- 1 càs sirop d'érable
- Pincée de Fleur de sel (optionel)
- Préchauffer le four à 180 degrés
- Faire les poires au sirop Dans une casserole chauffer 750 ml d'eau avec le sucre muscovado et la gousse de vanille grattée.
- Peler les poires, ôter le fond et placer dans le sirop. Laisser cuire 15 minutes jusqu'à ce qu'elles soient tendres.
- Puis couper les poires en deux et les tailler en fines lamelles.
- Préparer l'appareil Faire fondre 150 g de chocolat au bain marie. Ajouter une pincée de fleur de sel.
- Séparer les blancs des jaunes d’oeufs. Fouetter les jaunes et ajouter progressivement le sucre de coco. Incorporer le lait de coco, puis le mélange farine de coco-fécule de pomme de terre.
- Rajouter le chocolat fondu.
- Fouetter les blancs en neige avec une pincée de sel. Incoporer délicatement à l’appareil au chocolat à l’aide d’une spatule.
- Verser dans un large moule rond, préalablement graissé avec de l'huile de coco.
- Placer les poires sur la préparation, en les pressant doucement dans la pâte.
- Faire cuire environ 30 minutes - la pointe d’un couteau doit ressortir sèche.
- Noisettes caramélisées Mélanger les noisettes avec le sirop d'érable, puis verser sur du papier sulfurisé. Mettre au four pendant 15 minutes. Laisser refroidir, puis casser des morceaux pour décorer le cake.
Although my cake tin was too small and the pears disappeared, the cake turned out beautifully. It’s delicious! Very chocolatety and not too sweet.
Will definitely make this again. J’adore! Merci!
Oh yes, the pan cannot be too small indeed, but I’m happy you loved the cake anyway! I’m not fond of super sweet desserts as you noticed, looks like there’s at least two of us 😉