Pear torte with chocolate mousse

A delicate pear torte with chocolate mousse on a light sponge base. Simple to prepare, using pears in syrup or from compote. The mousse layer is intentionally kept thin so the chocolate doesn’t overpower the flavour of the pears. The chocolate mousse itself is perfect – enriched with almond liqueur and beautifully melt-in-the-mouth :).

Ingredients for sponge base:

• 2 large eggs
• 70 g caster sugar
• 50 g plain flour
• 20 g cornflour

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Sift the flour. Separate the eggs. Whisk the egg whites until stiff (being careful not to overwhip). Towards the end, add the sugar gradually, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the egg yolks one by one, continuing to whisk. Gently fold in the sifted flour using a spatula or whisk – do not use a mixer at this stage.

Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper (do not grease the sides). Pour in the batter and level it.

Bake at 160 – 170°C for about 20–25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove the hot sponge from the oven and drop the tin from a height of about 30 cm onto the floor (this helps prevent shrinking). Leave to cool at room temperature. Once cooled, gently trim off the thin, sticky top crust.

Note: loosen the sides with a knife only after the sponge has completely cooled.

Ingredients for soaking:

• 4 – 5 tablespoons syrup from the pears or pear compote

Ingredients for pear jelly layer:

• 4 – 5 pears from syrup or compote (depending on size)
• 1 pear-flavoured jelly dissolved in 450 ml boiling water

Slice the pears. Allow the jelly to cool, then chill until slightly thickened (it should not be fully set, but not too runny either). Soak the sponge with the syrup. Arrange the pear slices on top, then pour over the thickening jelly. Refrigerate until fully set.

Ingredients for chocolate mousse:

• 150 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 3 large eggs + 1 extra yolk
• 4 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie until smooth and glossy. Separate the eggs. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, gradually adding the icing sugar as you would for meringue. To the cooled melted chocolate, add the liqueur. Then add the yolks one by one, mixing, alternating with half of the whipped egg whites to loosen the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Spread the mousse over the set jelly layer and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Remove the cake from the tin, loosening the edges with a knife. Optionally, decorate with grated chocolate before serving.

Store in the fridge.

Enjoy!