Almond And Pear Chocolate Cake

A super moist, rich pear chocolate cake topped with gooey caramelized almonds. A go-to easy chocolate cake recipe for any special occasion.

Almond pear chocolate upside down cake – An incredibly rich and beautiful cake with no layers, no fancy filling and no elaborate decorating techniques.

This is the first time I have tried baking with pear. And chocolate is always a safe bet when you are unsure of your flavour pairings. This combination of pear and chocolate cake with the crunch from the caramelized almonds turned out deliciously indulgent, rich, light and chocolaty. An excellent cake for dinner parties. The best part – it tasted amazing the next day!

Today’s recipe is adapted from Chocolate almond upside down cake by Martha Stewart. I made a few changes from her original recipe. I changed the flour she used and folded in the chopped pears. Instead of using cake flour like her recipe, I have used a combination of wheat flour and all purpose flour.

In a nutshell

Why add pears to the already yummy almond and pear chocolate cake?

Since I used wheat flour, I had to make a few adjustments. The wheat flour by nature absorbs a lot of moisture. So to compensate for it, I had to increase the amount of wet ingredients. But I added the pears instead, which released moisture while baking and compensated for the dryness which would have been caused otherwise. If you are not a big fan of pears, you can substitute pears for apple or apricots maintaining the same fruit quantity mentioned in the recipe.

How to blanch and sliver almonds at home?

To blanch almonds, heat water in a pan along with the almonds. The level of water should be such that the almonds are all drowned. Once the water comes to a boil remove from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes. Once the water is warm, take an almond and squeeze from one side. The almond will pop out of the skin on the other side. Once completed let the almonds dry on a towel.

This is where I would regret not having the slivered almonds.  So if you can run to the store or you are planning ahead don’t forget the slivered almonds! This part makes your task super easy and the cake is ready in an hour without all the nitty-gritty.

Now take each almond and vertically slice them one by one. A bit time consuming but by this time deciding between slicing the almonds and wanting to have a piece of this delicious cake… the cake always wins!

Have you by chance blanched more almonds than needed? Try these Simple almond cookies and let me know what you think.

What is the difference between brown sugar and cane sugar when caramelized?

I have used both sugars to make the caramel for the almond upside-down cake. When I happened to make the caramel with brown sugar, it caramelized very beautifully and had a delicious sticky texture to it.

When I caramelized cane sugar, the caramel was extra gooey and in turn, added more moistness to the cake. I not only loved the extra gooeyness and the syrupy caramel but it tasted delicious too!

Because of the syrupy nature of cane sugar, I have reduced the sugar for the caramel to 100 grams. But if you want to make the caramel with brown sugar, use 125 grams of brown sugar instead.

What to do if the batter splits or curdles?

Honestly, this happens quite often at my house. Mostly because of my impulsive decisions to bake any time combined with my impatience. It was way easier to find a solution to the problem than preventing the problem.

The batter can split when cold ingredients are added to butter. This mostly happens when I add cold eggs or cold milk. So don’t panic. Just stop with the recipe. Heat water in a bowl larger than the one you have the batter in. Double boil your batter bowl on top of the heated water like you melt chocolate. Constantly stir the butter mixture to prevent the eggs from cooking. Slowly the bowl heats and the butter blends well with the other ingredients. Then remove from heat and continue with the recipe as though nothing happened!

What if bits of caramel stick to the cake tin?

On low heat, lightly heat the cake tin until all the caramel melts. Then immediately pour it on to the cake. Watch carefully making sure the caramel does not burn.

Tips to make the most indulgent pear and almond chocolate cake.

• Take the time to sift the flour twice. This process helps in making the cake light and fluffy.
• Lightly whisk the curd and then use it in the cake batter or else the batter would become lumpy.
• Pear can be used without peeling the skin. It made no difference to the taste or texture. But if you prefer peeling them no problem, works well both ways.
• Keep the cake tin inverted on the cake for at least 5 minutes, so the caramel gets a chance to completely stick to the cake.

How to store this amazing chocolate pear cake?

Personally, I think the cake tastes better the next day when all the gooey caramel is absorbed by the cake. It also keeps well on the counter for a couple of days. To store the cake for up to a week, cover and keep it chilled in the refrigerator.

If you love baking with chocolate, try this delicious Easy one bowl chocolate cake and my Peanut butter chocolate cake

Print Recipe

Almond And Pear Chocolate Cake

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Serves: 9 inch cake tin

Prep Time: 30 minutes – Cooking Time: 40 -50 minutes

A super moist, rich pear and chocolate cake topped with caramelized almonds. A go-to easy chocolate cake recipe for special occasions.

Ingredients

• For the caramelized almond topping
• 55 grams butter, melted
• 100 grams cane sugar or brown sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• 100 grams almonds, blanched and slivered
• For the chocolate pear cake
• 60 grams all purpose flour
• 55 grams wheat flour
• 40 grams cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 100 grams butter, softened
• 160 grams white sugar
• 3 eggs, large and room temperature
• ½ cup curd or greek yoghurt, lightly beaten
• ½ cup milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 pear, chopped to bite-size pieces, approximately 140 grams

Instructions

For the almond topping

1

Lightly toast the slivered almonds and set aside.

2

Spread melted butter to the bottom of the baking tin. Sprinkle the cane sugar on the butter making sure the base of the tin is covered.

3

Now drizzle the honey over the sugar.

4

Patiently arrange the slivered almonds on the sugar. Keep the tin aside.

For the chocolate cake

5

Preheat the oven to 170°C (350°F).

6

In a small cup, add the curd, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Set aside until needed.

7

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt twice without fail. Keep aside.

8

In another bowl, beat the butter until soft and fluffy.

9

Add the sugar to the butter and beat for another minute until well combined.

10

Beat in the eggs one at a time making sure the eggs are well blended.

11

Alternatively, add the flour mixture and curd to the batter making sure they are well combined.

12

Fold in the chopped pear. Pour the batter over the almonds.

13

Bake the cake for 40- 50 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted into the cake comes out clean.

14

Once cooked remove from oven and let it sit just 2 minutes.

15

Immediately invert the cake tin to a serving plate and keep it inverted for another 5 minutes to make sure all the caramel sticks to the cake.

16

Remove the tin from the cake and serve with a dollop of whipped cream for fancy dinner parties.

Notes

• This cake can be stored for up to a week once chilled. • Can be stored on the counter for up to 2 days. • Tastes best the next day. • Suppose you find bits of caramel stuck to the tin, lightly heat the cake tin on low over a stovetop. When the caramel melts pour it over the cake.