Today in Little Patisserie's recipes, we're going to try a lovely, moist chocolate sponge cake with pears, finished with a glossy chocolate glaze and a scattering of coconut. It's simple to make, smells wonderful and looks fantastic on the table. I'd recommend using soft, ripe pears — they make the cake even tastier. It's a real favourite with children too, and keeps well for a few days in an airtight container.
Chocolate Sponge Cake with Pears
Ingredients
Cake:
- 170g butter or margarine
- 180g sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder
- 4 tbsp milk
- 3 large eggs
- 170g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ⅓ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 550–600g pears, about 2–3 pears
Glaze:
- 100g dark chocolate
- 50g milk chocolate
- 150ml double cream
- shredded coconut, to sprinkle
Method
Cake:
- Put the butter (or margarine) into a saucepan with the sugar, vanilla sugar, cocoa and milk. Place over the heat, stirring, and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
- Add the eggs to the cooled mixture one at a time, mixing with an electric mixer after each addition until fully combined.
- Stir the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the flour. Sift the flour into the cocoa mixture and mix with an electric mixer until combined.
- Pour the batter into a 22cm x 22cm baking tin lined with baking paper, and smooth out.
- Peel the pears, remove the cores and cut into large chunks. Press the pieces firmly into the batter.
- Bake at 180°C (160°C fan) for about 50 minutes. I bake mine on the lowest oven shelf. Leave to cool in the tin after removing from the oven.
Glaze:
- Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Break the chocolate (dark and milk) into a bowl, pour over the hot cream and stir until melted. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and smooth out, then sprinkle with shredded coconut.
- Leave for about an hour for the glaze to set before slicing.
Happy baking! :)
