Chocolate-Cardamom Cake with Roasted Pears
By Sam BlockPublished on February 3, 2021
Time
2 hours, plus 1½ hours cooling
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Pears
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 3 ripe but firm Bartlett or Bosc pears (6 to 8 ounces/170 to 227 grams each), peeled, halved, and coredCake
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour ¼ cup (¾ ounces/21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon ground cardamom ¼ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon table salt ¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) granulated sugar 2 large egg, room temperature8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 ounces (57 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped fineConfectioners' sugarInstructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Melt butter in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange pears cut side down in skillet and cook, without moving pears, until just beginning to brown on first side, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast for 10 minutes. Flip pears and continue to roast until fork easily pierces fruit, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove skillet from oven and transfer pears cut side down to paper towel–lined plate.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Grease 9-inch springform pan. Whisk flour, cocoa, cardamom, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Whisk granulated sugar and eggs in large bowl until pale yellow, about 1 minute. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold in flour mixture until few streaks remain. Fold in chocolate until just combined (don't overmix).
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth into even layer. Cut 1 pear half crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices; leave pear intact on cutting board. Discard first 4 slices from narrow end of sliced pear. Slide small offset spatula under pear and gently press pear to fan slices toward narrow end. Slide fanned pear onto batter with narrow end facing center and wide end almost touching edge of pan. Do not press pear into batter. Repeat slicing, fanning, and placing remaining 5 pear halves evenly around pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove sides of pan and let cake cool completely, about 1½ hours. To unmold cake, slide thin metal spatula between cake bottom and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto serving platter. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
for the pears
for the cake
Time
2 hours, plus 1½ hours coolingYield
Serves 8Ingredients
Pears
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 ripe but firm Bartlett or Bosc pears (6 to 8 ounces/170 to 227 grams each), peeled, halved, and cored
Cake
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (¾ ounces/21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) granulated sugar
2 large egg, room temperature
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces (57 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
Confectioners' sugar
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Pears
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 ripe but firm Bartlett or Bosc pears (6 to 8 ounces/170 to 227 grams each), peeled, halved, and cored
Cake
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (¾ ounces/21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) granulated sugar
2 large egg, room temperature
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces (57 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
Confectioners' sugar
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Pears
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 ripe but firm Bartlett or Bosc pears (6 to 8 ounces/170 to 227 grams each), peeled, halved, and cored
Cake
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (¾ ounces/21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) granulated sugar
2 large egg, room temperature
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces (57 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped fine
Confectioners' sugar
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
To ensure a happy marriage in an elegant cake, we wanted pears that were as much a star as the chocolate itself. Pears on their own can be quite mild, so lots of caramelization was key to bringing out their floral quality. Before adding them to our cake, we roasted the pears in a 450-degree oven until they were caramelized and tender. We wanted a cake with crumb that was sturdy enough to hold up the pears so they sat pretty on top; this meant using leaner cocoa powder rather than melted chocolate. We ended up with a thick—almost brownie-like—batter that baked up tender and moist with the pears. And we stirred in cardamom to complement the pear's spice notes. Chopped chocolate added surprise gooey pockets. Cakes are often baked at 350 degrees, but we found 325 worked better for slow, even baking from edge to center. When baked at higher temperatures, this cake had hard edges. Fanning the thinly sliced roasted pears over the batter gave this balanced cake a beautiful presentation, no frosting required.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Melt butter in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange pears cut side down in skillet and cook, without moving pears, until just beginning to brown on first side, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast for 10 minutes. Flip pears and continue to roast until fork easily pierces fruit, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove skillet from oven and transfer pears cut side down to paper towel–lined plate.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Grease 9-inch springform pan. Whisk flour, cocoa, cardamom, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Whisk granulated sugar and eggs in large bowl until pale yellow, about 1 minute. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold in flour mixture until few streaks remain. Fold in chocolate until just combined (don't overmix).
- Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth into even layer. Cut 1 pear half crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices; leave pear intact on cutting board. Discard first 4 slices from narrow end of sliced pear. Slide small offset spatula under pear and gently press pear to fan slices toward narrow end. Slide fanned pear onto batter with narrow end facing center and wide end almost touching edge of pan. Do not press pear into batter. Repeat slicing, fanning, and placing remaining 5 pear halves evenly around pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove sides of pan and let cake cool completely, about 1½ hours. To unmold cake, slide thin metal spatula between cake bottom and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto serving platter. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
for the pears
for the cake
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