Sunday, May 27, 2012

Dark chocolate, pear and pistachio cake

Dark chocolate, pear and pistachio cake / Bolo de pistache, chocolate e pêra

A long time ago I told you that I was addicted to IMDb’s movie trivia – I still am, therefore it was a joy for me to find Gabrielle Wee’s gorgeous Tumblr: just be careful because you’ll probably lose track of time reading it (I speak of personal experience). :D

On that same post I also told you how much I loved browsing Gourmet Traveller’s recipes – I still do, and this delicious cake comes exactly from that magazine: I was so intrigued by the combination of pear, chocolate and pistachio in cake form that I had to try it – it was amazing.

Dark chocolate, pear and pistachio cake
slightly adapted from the always beautiful and delicious Australian Gourmet Traveller

Cake:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
½ cup (65g) unsalted pistachios
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Packham pear, cored and coarsely chopped

Chocolate ganache:
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
handful of pistachios, for decorating

Cake: preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 22cm (9in) springform cake pan*, line the bottom with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Process chocolate and pistachios in a food processor until coarse crumbs form, set aside. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating until well combined, then beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture, followed by the pistachio and chocolate mixture and the pear. Pour into prepared pan and bake until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 30-40 minutes. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 20 minutes then carefully unmold onto the rack. Cool completely.

Chocolate ganache: Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium heat to just below boiling, add chocolate, stand until chocolate melts (3-5 minutes), then stir until smooth. Set aside until slightly thickened (5-10 minutes). Pour ganache over the cake, scatter with pistachios, set aside to set (20-30 minutes), then serve. Cake will keep, stored in an airtight container, for 3 days.

* I made the exact same recipe using a 20cm (8in) cake pan (with a removable bottom)

Serves 10

15 comments:

Laura (Tutti Dolci) said...

How pretty, Patricia! What a delectable combination!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely Combination. You make me Racing with All your lovely photos! Have a Nice Day!

Cupcake and Talk said...

This cake looks amazing. You are so talented.

XL @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Yum! Love the idea of pear and pistachio.

tea with hazel said...

the pears are beautiful at the moment so it's a perfect time to make your delectable looking cake..

Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes said...

This combination is incredible, really. The cake looks moist and creamy, good for so many occasions!

Spencer said...

Mate that looks so good! I would love to try some.

MyFudo™ said...

Lovely combination! I am celebrating my 30--ish birthday in a month, and I am still thinking of a wonderful cake for my celebration. This is something I would love to treat myself with. Thanks!

argone said...

Not the pears season here in Europe, but I keep this recipe for this season ! thank you !

Sue/the view from great island said...

What a wonderful and unusual cake, I'm lusting after that dark chocolate ganache oozing down!

The Food Librarian said...

This cake looks so delicious. Love anything with pears and ganache! - mary

Anonymous said...

This looks delicious, and the combination of pistachios and pear sounds really interesting. It's a pitty that pears are out of season in Europe (as
someone else also mentioned)

Anonymous said...

nice posting. thanks for sharing

HR said...

I made this for Thanksgiving dinner (followed the recipe exactly) and it got wonderful reviews all around! One family member said it was one of the best cakes he's ever had, and he has eaten around the world. Another comment was that the pear and chocolate were unexpectedly tasty together. Thanks for the unique and delicious recipe! I'm sure it will appear on our holiday table again in the future.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Hey, HR! That is excellent news - I am so glad to know that the cake was such a hit! Thank YOU for coming over here to let me know how the recipe turned out.
xx

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