Unlike most fruits, the flavour of the pear actually improves after picking as they cannot ripen fully on the tree. We’ve used Conference pears in our cake, as their slightly grainy, sweet and juicy flesh is ideal for baking.
This loaf cake combines the perfect pairing of pear and chocolate, served with lashings of indulgent toffee sauce. The perfect bake to treat your guests to!
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Yields:
8
Prep Time:
35 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr 25 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs
Cal/Serv:
541
Ingredients
For the pears
50g
caster sugar
3
firm conference pears
Pared zest 1 orange
2Tbsp.
cocoa powder
For the loaf
150g
unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
175g
plain flour
1tsp.
bicarbonate of soda
40g
cocoa powder
100g
dark brown soft sugar
150g
caster sugar
2
medium eggs
1tsp.
vanilla bean paste
75g
soured cream
For the toffee sauce
100ml
double cream
40g
dark brown soft sugar
15g
unsalted butter
1/2Tbsp.
golden syrup
Directions
Step 1First, poach the pears. Heat the caster sugar and 600ml water in a medium pan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Peel pears, leaving stems attached, then halve lengthways and core neatly (we used a melon baller). Add pears to the pan along with the orange zest, making sure pears are covered with liquid.
Step 2Bring to the boil then simmer for 10min, until pears have started to soften. Remove from liquid and leave to cool. Once cool pat dry with kitchen paper and dust with cocoa powder.
Step 3Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Whizz all loaf ingredients in a food processor until smooth. With the motor still running, slowly pour in 100ml freshly boiled water from the kettle, until combined.
Step 4Pour 1/3 of the batter into the prepared tin. Cut a small slice off base of pear halves, then join two halves back together and push into the batter, stem up, so that the pears are touching side by side and sitting on the bottom of the tin. Spoon remaining batter around pears and then wrap the stems with foil to stop them burning. Bake for 1hr 10min, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the sponge comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
Step 5Meanwhile, make the toffee sauce: heat all ingredients in a pan over gentle heat until melted and smooth. Simmer for 5min; cool.
Step 6To serve, transfer cake to a serving plate. Pour over toffee sauce and serve in slices.
TO STORE Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
