Let me introduce you to a superstar. My children’s favourite baby sitter said it’s to die for. My son could eat his weight in it. My friends beg me to make it for them. This is my extra-quick signature cake, dense, shockingly chocolaty, meltingly creamy and fantastically moist. The sweet and juicy pears give it the looks of a diva and bring that perfect touch of lightness, devilishly enticing you to eat more... indulge.
To-die-for 15 min chocolate, almond and pear fondant
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Recipe by: Anne-Laure at Tasty Diaries Busy:15 min, Total prep time: 45 min Serves: 8 |
Preheat the oven to 175 degree C.
Cut the chocolate and butter into chunks and melt them together in the microwave in a mixing bowl. Do this in 30 sec sessions, mixing well between sessions to even out the heat and help the chocolate melt faster. With my 850kW microwave, it takes me about 3 sessions. If you don’t have a microwave, place the chocolate and butter into a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and stir regularly until all ingredients have melted.
In a second bowl, lightly beat the egg whites and sugar with a fork until the mixture looks homogenous, for about 20 sec. Do not use a whisk or an electric beater for this, you don’t want the whites to start foaming.
Add the almonds to the chocolate mixture and stir well. Dip your finger into the mixture, it should be just warm, i.e. you should not have any sensation of heat. If you do, wait a bit before moving on to the next step.
Add the egg yolk to the chocolate mixture and stir energetically. Add the egg whites and mix until reaching a homogenous batter.
Butter the cake tin and pour the batter into it.
Peel, quarter and core the pears, and cut them into segments about 3 mm thick. Press the segments into the batter leaving the tops of the segments visible and following a pretty pattern (concentric circles for a round tin, or neat, parallel lines for a square one). Make sure you place them very close to each other - leave about 1 cm between each slice. You may not use up all the pears, I tend to fill my dish with 2 1/2 pears.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a uniform crust has formed. Don’t worry if the cake feels a bit soft and creamy under its ultra thin crust, it will set when cooling down. If you did not use a loose base tin, wait until the cake is nearly cold before demoulding it.
Eat the fondant warm or cold. The slices will be easier to cut once it is cold, but I usually can’t wait, even if it is much messier!
This recipe works perfectly with my square 20 x 20 cm loose base non-stick cake tin, roughly equivalent to a 22 to 24 cm diameter round tin. If you don’t have a loose base tin, use a silicone mould instead for easier demoulding, or cover the bottom of your tin with a piece of greaseproof paper cut to size, with a side sticking out on one edge so you can use it to slide the cake out.
Preheat the oven to 175 degree C.
Cut the chocolate and butter into chunks and melt them together in the microwave in a mixing bowl. Do this in 30 sec sessions, mixing well between sessions to even out the heat and help the chocolate melt faster. With my 850kW microwave, it takes me about 3 sessions. If you don’t have a microwave, place the chocolate and butter into a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and stir regularly until all ingredients have melted.
In a second bowl, lightly beat the egg whites and sugar with a fork until the mixture looks homogenous, for about 20 sec. Do not use a whisk or an electric beater for this, you don’t want the whites to start foaming.
Add the almonds to the chocolate mixture and stir well. Dip your finger into the mixture, it should be just warm, i.e. you should not have any sensation of heat. If you do, wait a bit before moving on to the next step.
Add the egg yolk to the chocolate mixture and stir energetically. Add the egg whites and mix until reaching a homogenous batter.
Butter the cake tin and pour the batter into it.
Peel, quarter and core the pears, and cut them into segments about 3 mm thick. Press the segments into the batter leaving the tops of the segments visible and following a pretty pattern (concentric circles for a round tin, or neat, parallel lines for a square one). Make sure you place them very close to each other – leave about 1 cm between each slice. You may not use up all the pears, I tend to fill my dish with 2 1/2 pears.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a uniform crust has formed. Don’t worry if the cake feels a bit soft and creamy under its ultra thin crust, it will set when cooling down. If you did not use a loose base tin, wait until the cake is nearly cold before demoulding it.
Eat the fondant warm or cold. The slices will be easier to cut once it is cold, but I usually can’t wait, even if it is much messier!
As for all very chocolaty things, choose very good quality chocolate. I use Green and Blacks or Lindt 70% cocoa. Green & Blacks is slightly less sweet than Lindt so you may want to add a tad more sugar to the recipe if using that brand.
Don’t be alarmed if you notice the cake doesn't rise much as it bakes, it is not supposed to!
I like to use salted butter in this recipe - salt is a great taste enhancer for chocolate.
Don’t be alarmed if you notice the cake doesn't rise much as it bakes, it is not supposed to!
I like to use salted butter in this recipe - salt is a great taste enhancer for chocolate.
Ingredients
200 g 70% cocoa good quality dark chocolate
150 g lightly salted butter
4 eggs (4 whites, 1 yolk)
80 g ground almonds
100 g sugar
3 ripe pears
200 g 70% cocoa good quality dark chocolate
150 g lightly salted butter
4 eggs (4 whites, 1 yolk)
80 g ground almonds
100 g sugar
3 ripe pears
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