Flourless Chocolate Pear Cake Food

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE & PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Cut a circle of baking parchment to fit the base of a 25cm loose-bottomed tin. Melt 1 tbsp butter and brush the inside of the tin, then line the base with the parchment and brush again with more butter. Spoon in 2 tbsp caster sugar, swirl it around to coat the base and sides, then tip out any excess.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of hot water, remove from the heat, stir in the brandy and leave to cool. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick; fold into the chocolate with the hazelnuts.
• In a separate bowl, with a clean whisk, beat the whites until they reach a soft peak (try not to whisk them too stiffly or you'll have trouble folding them in). Stir a spoonful of the whites into the chocolate mix, then carefully fold in the rest of them in 2 additions. Spoon into the prepared tin. Level, then arrange the pears over the mixture, cut-side down. Bake for 40 mins until the pears are soft and the cake is cooked all the way through. Leave to cool in the tin slightly before releasing it, then place on a rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar and serve with crème fraîche.

PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• For the pears: Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper. Put the butter, brown sugar, and lemon zest and juice in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until melted. Add the pears, cover, and simmer, turning once, until the pears are soft and juicy, about 4 minutes. Pour the pears and their syrup into a strainer set over a saucepan. Set the syrup and 1 pear quarter aside. Arrange remaining pears in the prepared pan, stem ends toward center, rounded sides down, and 1/4-inch from the side. Chop reserved pear and use just enough to fill center.
• For the cake: Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Scald milk in a small saucepan; keep warm. Whisk flour with almonds, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and gradually add granulated sugar; continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl. Add cocoa powder and vanilla and beat 1 minute. While mixing at medium-low speed, add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
• While mixing slowly, add the flour mixture in 4 additions; turn off the mixer and fold in the hot milk with a rubber spatula. Spread the batter over the pears, taking care not to disturb them. Tap the pan lightly on the counter to settle the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a serving plate. Cool briefly, carefully peel the parchment paper from the top, and then cool completely.
• To finish the cake: Boil the reserved pear syrup until slightly thick and lightly brush the top of the cake with syrup. Whisk a few tablespoons of cocoa powder with an equal amount of confectioners' sugar, and sift over the cake; serve.

PRETZEL-CRUSTED FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH SAUTEED SPICED PEARS AND SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• For the pretzel crust: In a food processor, pulse the pretzels, sugar and butter together until nearly as fine as graham cracker crumbs.
• Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment and press the pretzel crumbs into the base.
• Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.
• Once cooled, scatter the caramel pieces over the top and set aside
• For the flourless chocolate cake: Adjust the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler over medium heat.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until they reach medium peaks.
• Add the sugar and whip to stiff peaks. Add the egg yolks and whip for two minutes.
• Fold in the chocolate mixture in three stages, being careful not to deflate the batter.
• Pour the batter into the pretzel crust, and bake for 15 minutes. When done, the center should feel slightly bouncy, but an inserted cake tester should come out like a moist brownie batter.
• Allow the cake to cool overnight before unmolding.
• For the spice blend: In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon, ginger and star anise until well blended. Set aside.
• For the sauteed pears: In a saute pan over medium heat, saute the pears until slightly translucent.
• Add the sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of the spice blend, and cook until the pears are tender and their juices slightly thickened. Allow to cool before use.
• For the salted caramel sauce: In a large pot, combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt. Cook until the mixture acquires a nice amber color, indicating it has reached the caramel stage (325 degrees F on a candy thermometer). Remove from the heat.
• Gently heat the cream in the microwave, then add it slowly to the caramel (be very careful¿the mixture will bubble up!).
• Once all cream is added, stir in the butter. Taste and season with more salt if necessary. Let cool.
• To finish: Top the cake with sauteed pears and pour caramel over. Chill until the caramel sets.
• Serve with brandy-flavored sweetened whipped cream.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Combine chocolates and butter in top of a double boiler. Melt over hot (but not boiling) water, stirring often. Remove top from heat and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, in a small pan, combine the 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil 4 minutes without stirring. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours (sugar may crystallize on surface--don't worry if it does).
• Preheat oven to 350* F. Butter and flour a 9x2 inch round cake pan. Line bottom with parchment paper; butter and flour paper. Start heating some water, such as in a kettle, so it is quite hot but not boiling.
• When chocolate and syrup have cooled, beat eggs and the 1/3 cup sugar in large mixing bowl at high speed for 10 minutes or until tripled in volume and eggs form ribbons when beaters are lifted.
• Slowly pour in syrup, beating constantly at high speed and taking care not to pour over beaters (which will fling syrup around in a sticky mess).
• Fold in chocolate mixture until blended. Pour cake batter into prepared pan.
• Place pan in a shallow baking pan, large enough for the cake pan to sit level on bottom and about 1 1/2 or 2 inches deep. Pour hot water around the cake pan to 1 inch depth, taking care not to splash water into the cake.
• Place the bain marie with the cake into the oven and bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes. The toothpick test will not work; the cake should be moist with a slight crust on top.
• Remove the cake from the bain marie. Cool in the pan to room temperature (about 3 hours). During cooling, the cake will settle and crack.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours.
• To serve, run a warm knife around inside of pan several times to loosen cake. Gently heat bottom by placing in hot water for 1-2 minutes. Dry off to keep from dripping onto cake. Place a baking sheet over top of pan, invert, and rap sharply on counter to remove cake from pan. The cake can be quite difficult to remove, so you may need to repeat these steps a few times before you are successful.
• Peel off paper and invert onto a serving platter, so top side is once again up. Cover and refrigerate; remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving and let sit at room temperature.
• Garnish with a dusting of sifted confectioner's sugar before slicing. The cake is very rich, so cut into sliver portions to serve.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• heat oven to 350°F Spritz a 6-inch cake pan or muffin tins with baking spray (a cooking spray containing flour).
• In a food processor, pulse almonds, sugar until finely ground. Set aside.
• In a glass bowl or measuring cup, combine chocolate chips and butter. Microwave on high in 15 second bursts, stirring in-between, until melted and smooth.
• With the processor running, pour in chocolate mixture and process until combined. One at a time, add eggs, processing between each to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and process one last time.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 15-25 minutes, (depending on pan size) or until cake is puffed and no longer glossy. Let rest in the pan until the top sinks back down, about 10 minutes. Invert onto a plate. Serve warm, or at room temperature.