CHOCOLATE, PEAR AND NUT CAKE

Looks like a long list of Ingredients but this Tart (Cake) is EASY.  There's no creaming of Butter and Sugar and no folding in of Eggs etc.  Inspired by a recipe from GoodFood and simplified even further.  For the Chocolate, use a good quality high, Cocoa content (65% +) if you can.

10-12 Slices – in about 2 hrs + cooling time.

• 250g pack of butter, melted but cooled.  (Save butter wrapper to grease the cake tin)
• 250g Caster Sugar
• 200g Self-raising Flour
• 50g Wholemeal Flour (or use all white)
• 100g Ground Almonds
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Mixed Spice + 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• ¼ tsp Ground or freshly Grated nutmeg
• 200g Finely Chopped Mixed Nuts (Hazelnuts, Almonds, Pistachios, Walnuts, Pecans – whatever you like)
• 100g of Finely Chopped Dark Chocolate
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1tsp Almond Extract
• 2 Pears – Peeled, Cored and Diced.

For the Icing

• 300ml Soured Cream
• 200g of good Chocolate, broken into Chunks

Step by Step.

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan and then butter and line the base and sides of a deep, 20cm loose-bottomed (or springform) round, non-stick cake tin.

Mix the sugar, flours, ground almonds, baking powder and spices in a big bowl.

Mix together the chopped nuts. Set aside 2 heaped tbsp of them for decoration and stir the rest into the dry ingredients along with the chopped chocolate.

Whisk together the cooled melted butter, eggs and almond extract. (Butter must be cooled or eggs will scramble)

Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to combine, then fold in the diced pear.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 1 hour then check that skewer or toothpick poked in comes out clean.  If inside is still sticky, turn heat down to 160C/140C fan and bake for a further 10 mins then check again.

Once cooked properly, remove from oven, cover with tin foil and cool in the tin overnight or for at least 6 hours if made early morning.

For the icing, put the soured cream and chocolate chunks in a small pan. Heat VERY gently, stirring, until chocolate is melted and blended well with the soured cream. Chill until firm and spreadable.

Remove the cake from the tin, spread over the icing and scatter with the reserved nuts.  Enjoy!!


Variations.
- Use whatever Nuts you have or like best, except Salted Peanuts, that would be silly – unless that's what you like.  You can also use Macadamias, Brazil, etc.
- Adjust the spicing to suit yourself.  Use more Cinnamon, some Allspice less Mixed Spice.
- Instead of Almond Extract use Orange Extract or even add a couple of tablespoons of Whisky or Bourbon.  Go Crazy.