Decadent Chocolate Pear Cake: Your Go-To Easy Dessert for Any Occasion

Indulge in the perfect harmony of rich, fudgy chocolate and sweet, tender pears with this exquisite Chocolate Pear Cake. This comforting dessert combines a deep, intensely chocolatey cake base with beautifully arranged slices of fresh pears and a scattering of extra chocolate chunks, creating a truly irresistible treat. Whether you’re planning a festive holiday gathering, seeking a cozy winter dessert, or simply craving a delightful afternoon tea accompaniment, this easy-to-make cake promises to impress with both its flavor and elegant presentation.

This timeless recipe, first published in July 2018 and thoughtfully updated in August 2021, draws its inspiration from the revered French classic, “Poires Belle Hélène.” This elegant dessert traditionally features tender poached pears lavished with a rich chocolate sauce and often accompanied by vanilla ice cream. Our cake cleverly captures that exquisite flavour profile and adds a delightful cakey dimension, making it a perfect adaptation for a comforting bake.

The combination of fruit and chocolate is a match made in heaven, offering a balance of sweetness, slight tartness, and intense cocoa notes. This particular chocolate pear cake recipe is designed to be both incredibly flavourful and surprisingly simple to prepare, proving that you don’t need to be a seasoned baker to create something truly special. Get ready to bake a dessert that will earn you rave reviews!

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Why You’ll Adore This Chocolate Pear Cake Recipe

There are countless reasons to fall in love with this pear and chocolate cake, making it a staple in any home baker’s repertoire. The unique blend of textures and tastes sets it apart from typical dessert recipes, promising a truly memorable experience.

• A Symphony of Flavours and Textures: The magic of pear and chocolate lies in their incredible synergy. The deep, slightly bitter notes of dark chocolate beautifully complement the sweet, delicate, and subtly fragrant pears. This recipe takes that classic pairing and elevates it within a cake that’s both fudgy and utterly decadent, yet simultaneously fresh and vibrant thanks to the soft, juicy pear slices. You get a delightful contrast in every single bite.
• Intense Chocolate Experience: Unlike many chocolate cakes that rely solely on cocoa powder, this recipe features a significant amount of melted dark cooking chocolate. This ensures an intensely rich, deep cocoa flavour that truly shines through, providing that satisfying chocolatey goodness you crave.
• Effortlessly Elegant: Don’t let its sophisticated appearance fool you – this cake is super quick and easy to make! You can even prepare the batter by hand with just a whisk and a bowl, making it accessible for bakers of all skill levels. Despite its simplicity, the final presentation is remarkably impressive, making it an ideal candidate for special occasions like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any holiday celebration where you want to serve something both delicious and beautiful.
• Perfectly Balanced Sweetness: While undeniably rich, this cake isn’t overly sweet. The slight tartness of the pears and the robust flavour of dark chocolate create a well-balanced profile that appeals to a wide range of palates.
• Comfort in Every Slice: There’s something inherently comforting about a warm slice of cake, especially one featuring such classic, heartwarming flavours. It’s the perfect treat to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea on a chilly evening.

Essential Ingredients for Your Chocolate Pear Cake

Crafting this delicious pear chocolate cake requires just a handful of simple, high-quality ingredients. Each component plays a vital role in achieving the perfect flavour and texture profile. You’ll find all quantities detailed in the recipe card below, but here’s a closer look at what you’ll need and why:

• Dark Cooking Chocolate: This is the star of the show for its intense cocoa flavour. Always opt for a good quality *cooking chocolate* (often found in bars designed for baking) rather than eating chocolate or chocolate chips. Eating chocolate has stabilizers that prevent it from melting smoothly, and chocolate chips are formulated to hold their shape, which can lead to a grainy texture in your cake. A 70% cocoa content is ideal for a rich, balanced flavour that isn’t overly sweet. If you prefer a sweeter cake, you could opt for a 50-60% dark chocolate or even milk chocolate, but be prepared for a less intense chocolate presence. No cocoa powder is needed in this recipe, as the melted chocolate provides all the richness.
• Unsalted Butter: Melted unsalted butter adds richness and moisture to the cake. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the overall salt content of your bake.
• Pears: The choice of pears is crucial for both flavour and texture. Look for fruits that are slightly firm, not overly ripe and mushy. This ensures they hold their shape beautifully when sliced thinly and baked, offering a delightful bite without becoming a watery mess. Varieties like Bosc, Bartlett (Williams), Anjou, or Concorde are excellent choices. You can keep the peels on for added fibre and rustic appeal, or peel them if you prefer a smoother texture.
• Eggs: Use medium to large-sized eggs, and critically, ensure they are at room temperature. Room temperature eggs emulsify better with other ingredients, creating a smoother batter and a more even crumb structure. If they’re too cold, they can cause the melted chocolate and butter to seize or harden, making the batter difficult to mix.
• Plain / All-Purpose Flour: This provides the cake’s structure. For best results, I highly recommend mixing all your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) together in a separate bowl and then sifting them into the wet ingredients. This step ensures an even distribution of leavening agents and prevents lumps, contributing to a lighter, more consistent cake texture.
• Brown Sugar: Brown sugar not only adds sweetness but also contributes to the cake’s moist, fudgy texture and gives it a subtle caramel note that pairs beautifully with both chocolate and pear.
• Baking Powder: Our leavening agent, ensuring the cake rises beautifully and achieves a light, tender crumb.
• Fine Table Salt: A pinch of salt is essential to enhance all the other flavours, particularly the chocolate, making it taste even richer and more complex.
• Chocolate Chunks (Optional): A handful of extra chocolate chunks or chips added on top before baking creates pockets of molten chocolate goodness that melt into the pear slices, adding an extra layer of decadence.

Flavour Variations & Enhancements

While delicious on its own, this chocolate pear cake is also wonderfully versatile. Feel free to experiment with these flavour variations to customize it to your taste:

• Spices: For a true taste of autumn and winter, consider adding 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ground ginger to your dry ingredients. These warming spices beautifully complement both chocolate and pear. A touch of nutmeg or cardamom would also be lovely.
• Citrus Zest: Brighten the flavour profile by grating in the zest of one orange. The citrus notes provide a lovely contrast to the richness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the pears. Lemon zest could also work for a more subtle tang.
• Substitute Fruits: While pears are the star, you could partially or fully substitute them with other fruits. Apples (such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith for a tart contrast) are an excellent alternative, or even a mix of apples and pears for a multi-layered fruit experience. Just ensure the fruit is sliced thinly.
• Coffee or Vanilla: Both coffee and vanilla are known to enhance chocolate flavour. Add 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to your wet ingredients, or for a subtle coffee boost, dissolve 1 teaspoon of instant coffee granules into the melted chocolate and butter mixture.
• Nuts: Toasted chopped walnuts or pecans folded into the batter or sprinkled on top would add a wonderful crunch and nutty flavour.

Crafting Your Perfect Chocolate Pear Cake: Step-by-Step

This chocolate pear cake recipe is designed for ease and enjoyment, yielding a stunning dessert without complicated techniques. You can use a stand mixer for convenience, but it’s equally achievable by hand with a sturdy whisk and a large mixing bowl.

• Prepare Your Workspace: Begin by preheating your oven to 180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This ensures the oven is at the correct temperature for even baking from the moment your cake goes in. Line the bottom of a 25 cm / 10 inch springform pan with baking paper (parchment paper) and lightly grease the edges. A springform pan is ideal for easy removal of this delicate cake.
• Melt the Chocolate & Butter: Finely chop your dark cooking chocolate. Smaller pieces will melt more evenly and quickly. Place the chopped chocolate and the unsalted butter in a heat-proof bowl.
• Photo 1: Gently melt the mixture. You can do this in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring thoroughly after each to prevent burning, or over a double boiler. Stir until completely smooth and glossy. Crucially, set this mixture aside to cool down completely to room temperature. Adding hot chocolate to the eggs will cook them, leading to an undesirable texture.
• Prepare the Pears: While your chocolate cools, wash your pears. Cut each pear in half lengthwise, remove the core (a melon baller or a small spoon works well), and then slice them thinly along their length. Aim for slices that are about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick so they bake through nicely and sit beautifully on the cake. If you’re not using them immediately, toss them lightly with a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside. You can peel the pears first if you prefer a smoother texture, but the skin adds visual appeal and a slight chew.
• Aerate Eggs and Sugar: In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if working by hand), combine the brown sugar and room temperature eggs. Whisk them together on medium to medium-high speed for approximately 5 minutes. The mixture should become pale, thick, very bubbly, and almost double in volume. This aeration step is key to creating a light and airy cake crumb.
• Photo 4: Once the egg mixture is light and fluffy, slowly pour in the cooled melted chocolate and butter mixture.

• Photo 5: Mix slowly until just combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated without over-mixing. To best preserve the air bubbles, you can switch to hand-whisking at this stage.
• Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together your plain/all-purpose flour, baking powder, and fine table salt. This ensures they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
• Photo 6: Sift the combined dry ingredients over the chocolate cake batter. Sifting helps prevent lumps and incorporates air, contributing to a lighter cake.
• Photo 7: Very slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. It is crucial *not* to over-mix at this stage; over-mixing can develop the gluten in the flour, resulting in a tougher, denser cake. Stop mixing as soon as no streaks of flour are visible. Again, a spatula is your best friend here to gently fold everything together and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Photo 8: Pour the chocolate batter into your prepared springform pan. Use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to gently spread the batter evenly to the edges if needed. Arrange the thinly sliced pears decoratively on top of the batter. You can create a beautiful spiral pattern or simply layer them as desired.
• Optional Embellishment: For an extra chocolatey kick, sprinkle the chocolate chunks (or chips) over the pear slices before baking.
• Bake to Perfection: Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. If using a smaller springform pan (e.g., 8-inch), remember to adjust the baking time, as it may take longer. Transfer the baked cake over a wire rack and allow it to cool down completely in the pan before attempting to remove it. This prevents the warm, delicate cake from breaking.

Common Questions About This Chocolate Pear Cake

Achieve Perfect Results Every Time: Expert Tips

To ensure your chocolate pear cake turns out moist, fudgy, and absolutely delicious, keep these crucial tips in mind:

• Ensure Chocolate & Butter Are Cooled: This is a critical step! After melting the chocolate and butter, it’s paramount that the mixture cools down to room temperature before being added to the egg and sugar mixture. If the chocolate is still hot, it will prematurely cook the eggs, leading to a scrambled egg-like texture in your batter and a dry, grainy cake. Patience here truly pays off.
• Use Room Temperature Eggs: Just like with the melted chocolate, the temperature of your eggs matters. Cold eggs can cause the melted chocolate and butter to seize and harden into small lumps when combined, making it difficult to achieve a smooth, homogenous batter. Room temperature eggs, on the other hand, emulsify much more effectively, contributing to a lighter, more evenly textured cake. If you forget to take them out ahead of time, simply place them in a bowl of warm (not hot!) water for 5-10 minutes.
• Gentle Mixing for Dry Ingredients: Once you add the flour, baking powder, and salt, mix the batter as little as possible – just until no dry streaks of flour remain. Over-mixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can result in a tough, dense, and chewy cake rather than the desired tender, fudgy texture. For best control, you might even consider folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a spatula instead of using a mixer, ensuring you don’t overwork the batter and deflate all the air you’ve whipped into the eggs and sugar.
• Don’t Overbake: Overbaking is the enemy of a moist, fudgy cake. Start checking for doneness at the lower end of the recommended baking time. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out with moist crumbs, but not wet batter. If it comes out completely clean, your cake might already be slightly overdone.
• Let it Cool: Allow the cake to cool completely in its pan on a wire rack. This allows the cake to set properly and prevents it from breaking when you release it from the springform.

Storing Your Chocolate Pear Cake & Freezing Advice

To enjoy your decadent chocolate pear cake at its best, proper storage is key.

This cake is most delightful when consumed within two days of baking. It can be kept at room temperature, ideally in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap, to maintain its moisture and freshness. For an even more indulgent experience, I highly recommend gently reheating individual slices in the microwave for a few seconds before serving. This revives the fudgy texture of the chocolate cake and warms the pears, making it taste freshly baked.

While some cakes freeze well, I generally do not recommend freezing this particular chocolate pear cake. The high moisture content of the pears can lead to a slightly mushy texture upon thawing, and the delicate crumb of the chocolate cake might become dry and crumbly after freezing and defrosting. For optimal flavour and texture, it’s always best to enjoy this cake fresh.

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Recipe Card

Chocolate and Pear Cake

5 from 15 votes

This Pear and Chocolate Cake makes the most delicious Fall and Winter dessert. The easy chocolate cake topped with thin slices of pears is perfect for afternoon tea, your Holidays dessert table or for dessert!

Servings: 10

Author: Sylvie

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Print Recipe

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 200 gr (7 oz) Dark Cooking Chocolate
• 120 gr (1/2 cup) Unsalted Butter
• 2 Pears, slightly firm, such as Bosc, Bartlett or Anjou
• 3 Eggs, at room temperature
• 100 gr (1/2 cup) Brown Sugar
• 200 gr (1 1/3 cup) Plain / All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 pinch Fine Table Salt
• 50 gr (1,5 oz) Chocolate Chunks, optional (or chocolate chips for topping).

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Line the bottom of a 25 cm / 10 inch Springform Pan with baking paper and lightly grease the sides.
• Finely chop the Dark Cooking Chocolate. Place it in a heat-proof bowl with the Unsalted Butter. Melt the mixture either in 30-second increments in the microwave (stirring between each interval) or over a double boiler until smooth. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature.
• Wash the pears, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the core. Slice each pear half very thinly (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick) along its length. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your mixer (or a large mixing bowl), combine the Eggs (at room temperature) and Brown Sugar. Whisk on medium-high speed for approximately 5 minutes, or until the mixture is pale, thick, very bubbly, and has almost doubled in volume.
• Add the cooled melted Chocolate and Butter mixture to the egg mixture. Mix slowly until just combined, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are properly incorporated (see note 1).
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the Plain/All-Purpose Flour, Baking Powder, and Fine Table Salt. Sift this dry mixture over the cake batter. Slowly mix until just combined, being careful not to over-mix. Stop as soon as no dry streaks of flour are visible (see note 2).
• Pour the chocolate batter into the prepared Springform Pan. Use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it evenly if needed. Arrange the thinly sliced Pears decoratively on top of the batter.
• Optional: finish by topping the cake with the Chocolate Chunks (or chips) for extra indulgence.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (with moist crumbs, but no wet batter). Transfer the cake in its pan to a wire rack and leave to cool down completely before attempting to remove it from the pan.

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Notes

Ingredients Notes:

• Chocolate: For the best results, use high-quality Baking Chocolate, which is specifically formulated for melting smoothly into batters. Avoid regular eating chocolate or chocolate chips, as these often contain stabilizers that can prevent them from melting properly, leading to a grainy texture in your cake. If using a chocolate bar, finely chop it before melting to ensure it melts evenly and quickly.
• Pears: Ensure your pears are slightly firm. This allows them to hold their beautiful shape when sliced thinly and baked, preventing them from becoming mushy and watery within the cake.

Instruction Notes:

1. Mixing Chocolate and Eggs: When incorporating the cooled melted chocolate and butter mixture into the egg and sugar mixture, stop to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl periodically. This ensures that all ingredients are thoroughly combined and no pockets of unmixed batter remain, contributing to an even texture throughout your cake.
2. Adding Dry Ingredients: It is crucial not to over-mix the batter once the flour, baking powder, and salt have been added. Over-mixing develops gluten, which can lead to a tough, dense cake. Mix only until the dry ingredients are just incorporated and no streaks of flour are visible. For more control and to preserve the air whipped into the eggs, you might find it helpful to perform this step by hand with a spatula rather than continuing to use a mixer. Always scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure all dry ingredients are fully mixed in.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 125mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 383IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 2mg