Name: Pear and almond mud cakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 175 gm dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped; 75 gm unsalted butter, coarsely chopped; 50 ml brandy; 75 gm caster sugar; 2 eggs, separated; 25 gm self-raising flour; 20 gm Dutch-process cocoa; 70 gm glacé pears, finely chopped; 50 gm roasted almonds, coarsely chopped; To serve: crème fraîche; Glazed pears; 250 gm raw caster sugar; 250 ml dessert wine; 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped; 3 corella pears, halved, cores removed with a melon baller; 100 ml pouring cream

Pear and almond mud cakes

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for pear and almond mud cakes.

Serves 6

Prep

20M

Cook

40M

Total

Ingredients

175 gm dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped

75 gm unsalted butter, coarsely chopped

50 ml brandy

75 gm caster sugar

2 eggs, separated

25 gm self-raising flour

20 gm Dutch-process cocoa

70 gm glacé pears, finely chopped

50 gm roasted almonds, coarsely chopped

To serve: crème fraîche

Glazed pears

250 gm raw caster sugar

250 ml dessert wine

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

3 corella pears, halved, cores removed with a melon baller

100 ml pouring cream

Method

Main

1.For glazed pears, combine sugar, dessert wine, vanilla bean and seeds and 165ml water in a saucepan, stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add pears, cover with a round of baking paper, weight with a plate. Bring to the simmer, cook until pears are tender (15-20 minutes), set aside in syrup.

2.Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180C. Melt chocolate, butter and brandy in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until smooth, remove from heat, stir in egg yolks. Sift over flour and cocoa, fold through. Whisk eggwhites until soft peaks form, gradually add sugar, whisk until firm peaks form. Fold one-third of eggwhites into chocolate mixture, then fold in remaining eggwhites, glacé pears and almonds. Place 6 greased 5½cm-diameter, 6cm-tall metal ring moulds (see note) or 1-cup-capacity dariole moulds on a baking-paper-lined oven tray. Spoon mixture into moulds, bake until tops are just firm when pressed lightly with a fingertip (12-15 minutes). Cool for 5 minutes, turn out onto plates.

3.Meanwhile, transfer 250ml reserved pear liquid to a frying pan, add pears, cut-side down, cook over medium-high heat until caramelised (4-5 minutes). Add 125ml poaching liquid, swirl pan to incorporate, simmer for 2-3 minutes, add cream and cook until syrupy (5-6 minutes). Serve immediately with mud cakes and crème fraîche.