Any nuts together with chocolate is a win. And so is this cake. But it’s not the nut and chocolate combo that makes this cake divine – there is also the moisture that comes with pear!

I’m genuinely tired right now and very sleepy. So I’m going to cut the story part of this post short. I adopted this recipe from Gourmet Traveller magazine, but put my own twists and especially changed the measurements a little. Anyway, just a few tips for the recipe below.

The cake requires 70% dark chocolate, so the higher the quality of your chocolate, the richer flavour your cake will be. I highly recommend roasting the pistachios, but just lightly. And finally, do not pour the chocolate ganache on the cake before the cake completely cools down. I didn’t have much time so I had to pour it when the cake was still slightly warm and it wasn’t the best idea. Also, do not cut the cake before the ganache settles completely. If your cake is completely cooled, then the ganache will settle fully fast. Enjoy!
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Ingredients:

Difficulty: Medium
(makes 1 cake in 22cm cake pan)

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

For the cake:
150 gr butter, softened in room temperature
1.5 dl + 1 tsp (or 2/3 cup minus 1 tsp or 150 gr) granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
2.5 dl (or 1 cup or 170 gr) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
200 gr 70% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped and then processed in a food processor to get very very small pieces
70 gr lightly toasted unshelled pistachio, coarsely crushed
1 conference pear, cored, peeled and diced small

For the ganache:
150 gr 70% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1.5 dl (or 2/3 cup minus 2 tsp) heavy cream (In Finnish: kuohukerma)

To decorate (optional):
about 15 gr lightly toasted unshelled pistachio, coarsely crushed

Note: I’m using the conversion table in this link.

1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease a 22cm cake pan, cover the base and sides with baking paper.

2. In the bowl of a mixer, put butter and sugar and whisk well for 3-4 minutes, until it gets fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl in the end.

3. Add eggs, one at a time and continue whisking until all the eggs are incorporated. Scrape the sides whenever needed.

4. Add flour and baking powder and continue whisking just until all the dry and wet ingredients are mixed well.

5. Add chocolate and pistachios and again, continue whisking just until all the ingredients are mixed well.

6. Fold in the pear.

7. Transfer the batter to the cake pan and smoothen the top with a spatula or a spoon. Put in the medium part of your oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. When the cake is ready, take out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes in the pan; then transfer the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool down completely (for example, you might want to bake the cake in the morning and do the next step in the late afternoon, several hours later).

8. When the cake is completely cool, prepare the ganache. Put the chocolate for the ganache in a heatproof bowl.

9. Put the heavy cream in a small saucepan and warm it until it starts boiling. Pour the hot cream on the chocolate and using a whisk or a spatula, melt the chocolate with hot cream. When all the chocolate melts, let the ganache cool down for about 7-8 minutes and harden a little.

10. Pour the ganache on the cake slowly, then spread it evenly on the cake using the back of a spoon (or a spatula). Decorate with crushed pistachios if you like and let the ganache cool down completely before slicing. Enjoy with fresh tea or coffee!