Double Chocolate Pear Cake. Simple ingredients that work so well together, creating a moist, velevety smooth cake, with luxurious cocoa and chocolate chips, and the freshness of the pear. Perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Song of the day: Coldplay - Clocks
In Italy, these kind of cakes are not only a great dessert, but indeed are used as a breakfast item. A slice with tea or caffellatte is totally acceptable and no guilt is felt while enjoying it. Also, it can make a break well worth waiting for.
Double Chocolate
Both cocoa and chocolate chips appear in this cake to make it extra scrumptious. As a matter of fact, I have made it with cocoa alone and it is still pretty rich. You decide how much chocolatey you want it to be.
Pantry staples and fresh ingredients
I actually had one of those, "I need a chocolatey afternoon snack" moment. So I decided to whip up something based on what I had in my fridge and pantry. Flour, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder, different kinds of chocolate bars, chocolate chips, different types of sugar, dried fruits, and nuts, are a staple in our pantry. Moreover, from our last trip to the Farmers Market, we had 2 Conference Pears, organic free-range eggs, some leftover coconut milk, and a European-style butter.
Stand mixer or bowl and whisk
The batter is pretty easy to make in a stand mixer, but it can be done in a bowl with a whisk or a handheld mixer.
- A good start is to beat the eggs and sugar until nice and frothy. I used coconut sugar, darker in color and less sweet and refined, but you can use any sugar you like.
- Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove and let it cool off a little before adding it to the batter, with the milk and the vanilla. As for the milk, I actually mixed some leftover coconut milk with a bit of almond milk to reach the quantity. You can use dairy milk or any non-dairy milk.
- Time to incorporate the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, that I sift together.
- Fold in the cubed pear and the mini chocolate chips, if using. TIP: I peel and cut the pears at the very end, so that they don't brown. If done earlier, you need to squeeze some lemon juice on it. One pear is cubed, the other is sliced. One will be in the batter, and you will find those juicy morsels blending beautifully with the double chocolate, the other is sliced and arranged on top.
The taste test
As the knife cuts in, the aroma of cocoa lingers, and the first bite confirms the delicateness of this wonderful sweet. This cake melts in your mouth! The pear on top, still somewhat crisp, breaks through with its juiciness and paired with the dark chocolate gives us a balance of flavors and diverse in texture. Also, the slivered almonds offer a nice crunch, so well welcomed.
Loaf pan or round cake pan
To sum up, I have made this cake many times. I like to bake it also in a round cake pan, skipping the pear in the batter and only adding the slices to the top, arranged in a circular manner. It has that wow factor every time I present it to the table. TIP: it bakes in less time in a round cake pan. It is less tall but still moist and rich.
P.s. Thank you to my amazing husband Loreto and the stunning boards he creates!
Print Double Chocolate Pear Cake
Double Chocolate Pear Cake, simple ingredients that work so well together, creating a moist, pillowy cake, with luxurious cocoa and chocolate flavor adding in, the freshness of the pear. A slice is perfect for breakfast, as a snack, or dessert.
Recipe adapted from Plumcake Pere e Cioccolato
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, organic, free range
- 120 g sugar (we used organic coconut palm sugar)
- 100 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 130 ml milk (dairy or non-dairy milk)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 220 g unbleached, all purpose flour
- 40 g unsweetened cocoa
- 1 Tbsp (9 g) baking powder
- 2 pears (we used Conference pears)
- ¼ cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips, optional
- slivered unbleached almonds, for the top, optional
- icing sugar (optional) for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C) and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs and sugar and beat at medium speed until frothy and lighter in color.
- Melt the butter in a microwave or bain-marie and let it cool.
- Add the milk, vanilla, and melted butter, beating on slow to incorporate them to the egg mixture.
- Add the sifted flour, cocoa, and baking powder, and mix until well incorporated.
- Peel the pears, then cube one and slice the other.
- With a spatula fold in the cubed pear and mini chocolate chips, if using.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan (or any other pan you like) and spread the top evenly with the spatula.
- Garnish the top with the sliced pear and slivered almonds.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the sides and center comes out clean.
- Let cool on a rack before taking out of the pan.
- Once cooled, sprinkle with icing sugar, slice, and enjoy!
Notes
You can use a loaf pan or a round cake pan. Adjust baking times accordingly.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert, cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8-10 servings
Ricetta in Italiano:
Print Plumcake doppio cioccolato e pere
Ricetta adattata da Plumcake pere e cioccolato
- Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 2 uova medie, biologiche, da allevamento a terra
- 120 g di zucchero (io ho usato zucchero di cocco)
- 100 g di burro, sciolto e fatto raffreddare
- 130 ml di latte (io ho usato latte di cocco)
- 2 cucchiaini di estratto di vaniglia oppure una bustina di vanillina
- 220 g di farina 00
- 40 g di cacao amaro in polvere
- 1 bustina di lievito per dolci
- 2 pere, una tagliata a cubetti, l'altra a fette
- una manciata abbondante di mini gocce di cioccolato
- mandorle in scaglie
- zucchero a velo per guarnire
Instructions
- Pre riscaldare il forno a 180° e imburrare uno stampo da plumcake o foderarlo con carta forno.
- In una planetaria sbattere le uova con lo zucchero fino a che siano spumose e chiare.
- Sciogliere il burro a bagnomaria oppure al microonde e farlo raffreddare.
- Incorporare a filo il latte, la vaniglia e il burro fuso alle uova sbattute.
- Aggiungere poi la farina, il cacao amaro e il lievito in polvere (setacciati) e amalgamare bene tutti gli ingredienti.
- Aggiungere una pera tagliata a cubetti e le mini gocce di cioccolato e incorporare con una spatola.
- Versare l'impasto nello stampo da plumcake e livellare la superficie.
- Decorare la superficie con le fette di pera e le scaglie di mandorle.
- Infornare e cuocere per circa 40-45 minuti (fare la prova stecco lungo da spiedino).
- Lasciare raffreddare nello stampo prima di tirare fuori e spolverare di zucchero a velo.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8 -10 persone
Need some more beautiful examples of how well chocolate and pear work together? Here they are:
ROASTED PEAR AND CINNAMON CHOCOLATE CHUNK SCONES
CHOCOLATE PEAR MUFFINS
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Julia says
This Cake looks phenomenal! I love that you have substitutions in the blog post too. I haven't actually ever used coconut sugar but it's all over the Internet now so I think I should buy it to try.
Thank you Julia! I love this kind of cakes. Luscious, but still not too bad for you 🙂 . Coconut sugar, or better organic coconut palm sugar, is a great alternative. Less sweet than any other counterpart, it lends a beautiful color and flavor to baked goods (I just do not use it when a fine granulated sugar is required, meringues, for example).
kravingsfoodadventures says
You had me at double chocolate!
Thanks! I know, who can resist a double dose of chocolate? 😉
The Finer Cookie/Kim says
Looks wonderful. Perfect for this time of year.
Thank you! Yes, we like to incorporate seasonal ingredients, so apples and pears are a good option before the summer fruits will hit the markets.
Vicky Chin says
Lovely cake ! I like the combination of pear and chocolate ! (Well, I like anything with chocolate)
Yes, it is nice to have more sunlight, especially for photo shooting ! Your pictures look amazing ! Thanks for sharing !
Thank you Vicky! We love this flavor combination, really! And it's so nice to finally not having to rush to take pictures before the sun goes down! 🙂
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
That time change was rough!! Amazing what one hour can do to ya! It took me a couple of days to get over that, lol. But, like you, I do like that the days are longer and we get more natural light, which is awesome for taking blog pictures. This cake is stunning, Nicoletta! Double chocolate plus pear? Such a lovely combo and that pear in the top is a fantastic idea! I bet this would be lovely with a nice espresso. Pinned! Have a lovely upcoming weekend!
Thank you so much, Dawn! It was nice with the espresso, as I had it in the afternoon, and then in the morning it was also nice with coffee, and after dinner, as dessert. It was gone too fast 🙂 . I just love that the daylight stays with us until 8 p.m. now!
annie@ciaochowbambina says
Your description in the final paragraph has my mouth watering! You have a way with words, my friend! This cake is a stunner! To look at and to taste! Brava!
You're so sweet Annie, thank you so much! We loved the cake, it was soon gone 🙂 .
Liz | Bubble Tea For Dinner says
Simply gorgeous; and bathed in that sweet, ever-lengthening daylight 🙂
Thank you! It is a simple beauty, and so good 🙂 !
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
Love the combo of pears and chocolate and your cake is so gorgeous!! I would love this cake for breakfast too. Nothing beats natural light and your photos are always beautiful 🙂
Thank you, Karrie! I love chocolate anything for breakfast, plus with the addition pf the pear is somewhat healthy, isn't it? 🙂 .