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Gina @ The Passionate Pantry

Pear and Chocolate Loaf

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 1 large loaf
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE

  • 200 g dark chocolate callets or block chocolate cut into small pieces

  • 520 g pears washed, skin left on, cut into quarters and deseeded (about 3 medium)

  • 200 g butter room temperature, cut into cubes
  • 200 g light muscovado sugar or brown sugar
  • 3 x 60g eggs room temperature

  • 200 g white spelt flour or plain white flour
  • 100 g wholemeal spelt flour or plain wholemeal flour
  • 30 g Dutch cocoa
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 ½ tsp bi-carb soda
  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes or ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 150 g full fat yoghurt

INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE TOPPING

  • 150 g dark chocolate callets or block chocolate cut into small pieces
  • 100 g full fat cream
  • 20 g butter
  • 2 tsp Dutch cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp golden syrup or glucose syrup

Method
 

METHOD FOR CAKE
  1. Place rack into middle of oven, and pre-heat to 180 degrees fan forced
  2. Grease and line a large loaf tin (base measurement 25cm x 9.5cms), or a round 22cm spring form cake tin
  3. Place chocolate into TM bowl and chop 4 seconds / speed 9, put aside, do not clean TM bowl
  4. Place pears into TM bowl and blend 5 seconds x speed 6, scrape down sides
  5. Add butter, sugar and eggs and mix 20 seconds x speed 4, scrape down sides
  6. Add flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, bi-carb soda, salt and yoghurt and mix 10 seconds x speed 5
  7. Scrape around bowl and mix another 2 seconds x speed 5
  8. Add chocolate and fold lightly into batter, then mix 3 seconds / speed 5, scrape around bowl and repeat 3 seconds / speed 5
  9. Pour batter into tin, level top and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (it takes exactly 65 minutes in my oven whether I use a loaf tin or a round cake tin)
  10. Rest loaf in tin for 20 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool
  11. Ice if desired when completely cold
  12. Keeps well at room temperature for a few days

METHOD FOR CHOCOLATE TOPPING
  1. Put loaf on wire rack which is sitting on top of greaseproof paper to catch any drips
  2. Place all the ingredients into TM bowl and heat 2 minutes / 50 / speed 3
  3. Scrape around bowl and continue 1 minute / 50 / speed 2 to ensure the mix is completely smooth
  4. Scrape around bowl
  5. Drizzle topping over loaf allowing it to drip over the sides
  6. Allow to set before cutting

Notes

It is a super easy batter to make, and fits perfectly into a large loaf tin (base measurement 25cm x 9.5cm), or a round 22cm springform cake tin
The loaf is delicious just as it is, but I couldn't help playing around with a chocolate topping that I saw recently in the Weekend Australian newspaper. The recipe comes from Gennaro Contaldo (from "Two Greedy Italians" TV program ... loved that show!), and in it he used glucose syrup which is what gives the topping extra shine and allows it to set quickly. I decided to play around with that as I know not everyone would have glucose syrup, and found that golden syrup works well too, but it takes a little longer to set and the shine is not quite so bright. So use whichever one you prefer and have on hand.