Chocolate-Pear Cake

This cake is a little variation on a traditional apple cake (Apfelkuchen sehr fein). The batter contains cocoa and chocolate chips, instead of apples this cake uses pears.

Ingredients:

Springform (28 cm or 11 inches in diameter)

Some grease

3 pears (ripe and soft)

200 g all-purpose flour

2 leveled teaspoons baking powder

100 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon rum

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch of salt

100 g (1 stick) butter or margarine

4 eggs

50 g oats

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

100 g chocolate chips

Decoration:

Powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Cut pears into quarters, remove core and peel.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F). Grease bottom of springform.

3. Sift flour into a bowl, add baking powder and mix. Add vanilla, cinnamon, rum, salt butter or margarine, eggs, oats, milk and cocoa. Whisk ingredients until soft and smooth batter has formed.

4. Pour batter into springform, put pears on top (push pears a little into the batter), and bake cake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 F) for about 1 h or until toothpick comes out clean.

5. Remove cake from oven, remove springform edge and let cake cool down. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Comments:

1. Use ripe and soft pears! Alternatively, canned pears work well, too.

2. I used oats in the cake, but hazelnut flour is a great substitution. It'll give the cake a nutty flavor.