Chocolate Pear Frangipane Cake with Almonds
Rich dark chocolate and ground almond cake topped with fanned pear halves and flaked almonds. Baked with melted chocolate and butter, bound with eggs and fat-free yogurt for a moist crumb. Finished with apricot glaze and optional milk chocolate drizzle for depth.
Ingredients
- 16 tbsp unsalted butter, softened plus extra for greasing
- 7 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- 5 British eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cups Greek style fat free yogurt
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ¾ cups self raising flour
- 5 ½ oz ground almonds
- 1 ½ cups superfine sugar
- 3 British pears, peeled, cored and halved
- 2 tbsp flaked almonds
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
- ¼ cups milk chocolate, chopped(optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350°F/fan 325°F/Gas 4
- 2
Grease a 9" loose-bottomed cake tin with butter and line with greaseproof paper
- 3
Melt dark chocolate and butter together in a bowl set over simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn't touch the water, then cool
- 4
Whisk eggs, yogurt and almond extract together with the cooled chocolate mixture
- 5
Mix flour, ground almonds and sugar in a separate bowl, then fold in the chocolate mixture
- 6
Stir until smooth and pour into the prepared tin
- 7
Cut 6 slits in the base of each pear half, fan out and arrange on top of the batter with tips pointing toward the centre
- 8
Sprinkle flaked almonds over the pears and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean
- 9
Cool in the tin for 20 minutes
- 10
Gently heat apricot jam with water and brush over the pears, then turn the cake out from the tin
- 11
Melt milk chocolate and drizzle over the cake if desired
Tips
Ensure the chocolate bowl doesn't touch the simmering water to avoid seizing the chocolate
Use room temperature eggs for better emulsification with the yogurt
The pear halves should be arranged tips-inward for even baking and attractive presentation
Good to Know
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days
Bake up to 1 day ahead and apply apricot glaze the day of serving. Apply chocolate drizzle no more than 2 hours before serving
Serve at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Common Mistakes
Do not allow chocolate to touch simmering water to avoid seizing
Do not skip the cooling step before folding chocolate into eggs to avoid cooking them
Do not underbake; test with a skewer to ensure the crumb is set