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Dark chocolate, pear and pistachio cake

Dark chocolate, pear and pistachio cake

“I adore the dark chocolate, pear and pistachio cake at Tartine in Armadale. Please would you get the recipe? I’d love to make this at home.”
Emily Ispanovic, Forest Hill, Vic

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Dark chocolate, pear and pistachio cake

Serves 10
Cooking Time Prep time 20 mins, cook 45 mins (plus cooling, setting)
200 gm   dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
70 gm   (¾ cup) pistachio kernels, plus extra to serve
150 gm   softened butter
150 gm   caster sugar
3   eggs
150 gm   (1 cup) plain flour, sieved
1 tsp   baking powder
1   Packham pear, cored and coarsely chopped
Chocolate ganache
150 gm   dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
150 ml   pouring cream


1 Preheat oven to 160C. Process chocolate and pistachios in a food processor until coarse crumbs form, set aside. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating until well combined, then stir in flour and baking powder. Stir through pistachio and chocolate mixture, then pear, pour into a 22cm-diameter springform cake tin greased and lined with baking paper. Bake until an inserted skewer withdraws clean (30-40 minutes), cool in tin for 10 minutes, turn out and cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
2 Meanwhile, for chocolate ganache, place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Heat cream in a saucepan over medium heat to just below boiling, add to chocolate, stand until chocolate melts (3-5 minutes), then stir until smooth, set aside until slightly thickened (5-10 minutes). Smooth over top and sides of cake, scatter with pistachios, set aside to set (20-30 minutes), then serve. Cake will keep, stored in an airtighter container, for 3 days.

This recipe is from the April 2010 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

RECIPE Tartine, Armadale, Victoria PHOTOGRAPHY Ben Dearnley STYLING Mia Asker and Alice Storey


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