I love desserts, and, just like my father, I definitely have a sweet tooth! I also adore pears – poached, roasted, stuffed, or prepared in any way possible! And although this union is a rather classic combination of flavours, I’ve never baked a cake using both ingredients.

Still, I suppose we had a lot of first attempts during the quarantine, and this recipe is certainly one of them!

It’s a cake that my grandpa Luciano adores, especially because it has extra bits of dark chocolate in it (he LOVES chocolate!). The result is a fluffy, moist cake that doesn’t just look gorgeous, but tastes it too! Enjoy! x

Makes one small Bundt mold

Ingredients:

80 g flour
20 g cocoa powder
1 tsp of baking powder
100 g sugar
3 eggs (separated)
50 g dark chocolate (broken into small chunks)
80 g melted butter
1 ripe pear (cut into small cubes)
A pinch of salt

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until it forms a light-coloured mixture, then gradually sift in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and cocoa). In another bowl, whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks begin forming. Then, using a spatula, slowly incorporate the chocolate chunks and the melted butter (at room temperature) into the egg yolk mixture. When all ingredients are well combined, carefully fold in the whipped egg whites (ensuring not to deflate the batter) and then the pears. Transfer the mix into a cake pan (buttered and floured) and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 40 minutes (also, the cake batter bakes perfectly in a small Bundt mould). Enjoy! x

Chocolate pear cake