Gluten Free Chocolate and Pear Cake
Deliciously moist and torte-like in texture, this pear and chocolate cake is naturally gluten free due to the fact it contains no flour and with a dash of whisky it's a real treat for the tea table. Great for using up those harvest time fruits or pears that have been in the fruit bowl for a little too long.
Servings: 8
Calories: 310kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 85 g butter or dairy free alternative, I use Flora plant butter
- 85 g caster sugar
- 85 g dark chocolate
- 1 tsp whisky brandy or rum are also delicious
- 3 egg(s) separated
- 85 g hazelnuts almonds work equally well
- 3 ripe pears peeled, halved and cored
Instructions
- Toast the nuts under a grill until just starting to brown - keep an eye on them, they burn really quickly.
- Blitz the nuts in a food processor until they are finely chopped.
- Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering hot water or melt in microwave.
- Add the whisky to the chocolate, fold to combine and leave to cool.
- Whisk the sugar and egg yolks until thick and a pale creamy colour.
- Fold the chopped roasted hazelnuts and chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar.
- In a separate clean large bowl whisk the egg whites into soft peaks, add one dessert spoon of the whisked egg whites to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. This breaks up the thick chocolate mixture making it easier to work with.
- Add the remaining egg whites and fold in.
- Add to a loose bottomed 20cm cake tin that has been greased and lined with baking paper.
- Arrange the pears in a circle round-side up.
- Bake at 180°C | 160°C fan | 350°F | Gas 5 for 45mins. The cake is cooked when an inserted wooden cocktail stick comes out clean.
- Once cooked leave to cool for 5mins before taking out of tin.
- Serve warm on it's own or with cream or custard or cool completely and have like a piece of cake.
Nutrition
Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 251mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 378IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg