A quick, autumnal pear cake with the addition of hazelnuts and chocolate. Personally, next time I’d skip the chocolate and simply enjoy the delicate nutty cake infused with the aroma of pears ;). This pear, hazelnut and chocolate cake is very quick to make if you have a food processor, though you can of course prepare it the traditional way as well. It’s deliciously moist, with an interesting, moreish flavour and a lovely texture. Important: the recipe works just as well if you replace hazelnuts with walnuts or almonds. Highly recommended!
Ingredients for easy autumn pear & hazelnut cake:
- 100 g hazelnuts
- 140 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 175 g butter, diced
- 100 g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 5 medium pears
- 50 g dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons apricot jam
All ingredients should be at room temperature. Peel the pears and remove the cores. Dice 2 pears into small cubes and cut the remaining 3 into larger chunks.
Place the hazelnuts in a food processor and grind them finely. Add the plain flour and baking powder, then pulse to combine. Add the diced butter and blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and eggs, and mix only until just combined – do not overmix. Fold in the diced pears and chopped chocolate using a spatula.
Grease and flour a 20–21 cm round cake tin, or line it with baking parchment. Transfer the batter into the tin and level the surface. Arrange the larger pear pieces on top.
Bake at 160°C for about 55 – 60 minutes, or longer if needed, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool slightly in the tin, then brush the top with apricot jam. Remove from the tin and serve warm if you like.
Enjoy!
Recipe source: BBC Good Food.
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