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Chocolate and pear upside-down cake recipe

Chocolate and pear upside-down cake recipe

112 ratings

Pear and chocolate are a classic combination and this easy cake makes a delicious end to a dinner party. Best served warm with plenty of cream, this rich chocolate sponge is turned upside-down to reveal a ring of soft, caramelised pears. See method

  • Serves 12
  • 20 mins to prepare and 1 hr 25 mins to cook, 10 mins to cool
  • 393 calories / serving
  • Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 6 small ripe pears (roughly 600g), peeled, quartered and cored
  • 25g butter, melted
  • 30g caster sugar
  • single cream, to serve (optional)

For the sponge

  • 60g cocoa powder
  • 190g salted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 2 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
  • 100g low-fat natural yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 100g light soft brown sugar
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 3 eggs
If you don't have any pears, try using apples

Each serving contains

  • Energy

    1645kj
    393kcal
    20%
  • Fat

    20g 29%
  • Saturates

    11g 56%
  • Sugars

    34g 38%
  • Salt

    0.7g 11%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 50.9g Protein 5.1g Fibre 1.8g

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Put the pears in a baking dish with the melted butter and caster sugar; toss to coat. Bake for 25 mins or until just tender. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle.
  2. Grease a 20cm round springform cake tin and line the base with nonstick baking paper. Arrange the pears in a tight circle over the base, with the thin ends in the centre. Drizzle over any juices from the baking dish.
  3. Mix the cocoa with 100ml boiling water until smooth. With an electric whisk, beat the butter, oil, yogurt, cocoa mix, vanilla, sugar, flour and baking powder in a large bowl for 2 mins until smooth and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Pour over the pears and shake gently to level out.
  4. Bake for 1 hr-1 hr 10 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 mins in the tin before turning out onto a serving plate, so the pears are facing up. Serve warm with the cream drizzled over, if using, or leave to cool completely.

Tip: You can bake the cake up to 2 days in advance, making it perfect for a dinner party. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

If short on time, you can skip step 1 and use tinned, quartered pears instead. Drain from their juice and arrange straight in the tin as above.

See more Baking recipes

As part of a healthy balanced diet, we recommend this recipe for a special occasion or treat.

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