Little Chocolate Heart Cakes With Pears Recipes

LITTLE CHOCOLATE HEART CAKES WITH PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place an 8-cavity heart silicone mold onto a baking sheet.
• Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring after each melting, 1 to 3 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes.
• Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add melted chocolate, 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour, egg, and baking powder and mix in. Fold in pear and almonds into batter. Spoon batter into the prepared heart-shaped molds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 10 minutes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes, then unmold.

UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Butter a 9-inch round baking pan.
• To make the fruit topping, put the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan (one with a tight-fitting lid) and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then cover and cook for 2 minutes. (Covering in this way allows the steam to wash down the sides of pan, which will prevent any sugar crystals from forming.) Uncover the saucepan and continue to boil the sugar, gently and slowly swirling the pan as needed to cook the caramel evenly, until it becomes a dark amber color. Occasionally wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Carefully pour the caramel into the prepared pan and allow it to harden. The pan will be very hot from the sugar, so take care in moving it if you need to. Fan the pear slices on top of the caramel in a circle around the perimeter, filling in the center with the remaining slices.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• To make the cake, place the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat and melt, stirring occasionally. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Transfer the melted chocolate to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and add the sugar. Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the milk in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake bounces back slightly when touched. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a plate, leaving the pan on top of the cake for 5 minutes before you remove it. Serve the cake warm, topped with a small dollop of Chantilly cream or a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
• Storage: Wrapped in plastic wrap, the cake will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.

PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• 1. 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 the pears, cut side down in a spoke-like pattern in the pan. Cut the reserved pear and use to fill the center.
• 2. 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 one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• 3. 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 the pattern. 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.
• 4. 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.

FRENCH CHOCOLATE PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Spray a 9 or 10" pan, ideally a springform, with cooking spray.
• Combine egg whites, sugar and vanilla, add and stir in cocoa, flour and baking powder.
• Stir in apple sauce.
• Carefully stir in the cubed pears, (count out 6 half-pears, eat any extras).
• Pour batter into greased pan and bake at 350° for about 45 minutes.
• Cool and unmold, dust with cocoa and/or powdered sugar to decorate.