Pear and chocolate cake with a ginger honey twist

Another half lockdown is started ☹

Definitively not an easy time wherever you are in the world. Keeping mental and physical health is probably harder than ever. Healthy eating can definitively help to manage the situation. So, let’s bake!

This is the time of the year when pears are one of the protagonists around the table. Pear and chocolate are a well known (wonderful) combinations.

Always keeping in mind to balance all macronutrients (trying to select favourable ingredients in the right proportions), without forgetting flavours and pleasure for the palate.

Here I also added a gingery twist! I was going to bath the pear with honey, instead of the classic rich sugary syrup. Then, I saw in my cupboard some ginger honey. I had to try it, of course!

Don’t worry if you don’t have it; you can replace it wit some fresh ginger, of if you are not really into ginger, just use your favourite honey! Bathing the pear with water and honey will softened it adding a slightly sweet touch. The water from the “bath” it is perfect to make a light syrup for upgrade this wonderful cake!

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Ingredients:

1 pear (about 250 gr)

1 teaspoon ginger honey (if you don't have, add about 1/4 inch of fresh ginger finely chopped)

400 ml water

1 egg

3 yolks

7 white eggs

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon honey

30 gr walnuts flours (5 walnuts blended)

50 gr oat flour

5 gr unsweetened cocoa powder

20 gr dark chocolate chips

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"Bathing" the pear:

in a pot place some oven proof paper, place the pear cut in thick slices over the paper; pour the water and the honey.

Bring to boil on gentle heat.

Turn the heat down to allow a gentle simmering: cover the pear with another sheet of oven proof paper with an hole in the middle (see picture).

Simmer for 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave it until cold.

Remove the pear and let reduce the syrup a bit:

bring to boil for about 15 minutes.

Place the pear on some kitchen paper, so they can lose the excess of water.

You will pour this light syrup on your slice of cake as final touch.

(If you prefer a thicker glaze, add a tablespoon of honey while boiling).

Cut 3 short slices of pear (these will be place on top of the cake) and dice the remaining.

Beat until pale the egg, yolks and honey.

Beat the white with a pinch of salt until stiff.

Mix the flour together and add a tablespoon in the yolks; then add all the white, then the remaining flour.

used a cake pan of 20 cm diameter 10 cm height, greased and dusted with some oat flour.

Layer up the dough, diced pear and chocolate chips (same as you were doing a lasagna). Make sure to put in the first layer only few pieces of pear and chocolate, and make the second one richer.

On top place the small slices and few chocolate chips.

Fan over 170°C for 45 minutes.

Perfect like this, but the light ginger honey syrup will add a nice twist of flavours, a joy for the mouth!