How to Make the Softest Italian Pear and Almond Chocolate Cake
Valentine’s Day Delight or Daily Coffee Side?
This Pear and Almond Chocolate Cake is a delicious and versatile dessert that works wonderfully as an indulgent dessert to finish a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner AND as a side for your daily coffee(s).
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To the Italians, it is in most cases the latter, but that does not mean this pear and almond chocolate cake cannot make a perfect special occasion dessert. To me, it works the same way Tiramisù would: “wow!” And “can I have more, please?”
Imagine the combination of delicate, soft and juicy pears and the crunchiness offered by the crushed almonds. Add to that the richness of chocolate, and the result is an explosion of tastes on your palate! Nothing short than a heavenly dessert to the gluttonous!
As is often the case with Italian cuisine, this cake is easy to make and so scrumptious – a guarantee that you will impress the beneficiary no matter the occasion!
Ingredients for Pear and Almond Chocolate Cake
Flour + Baking powder
Almonds (crushed and flakes, slightly roasted)
Pears (ripe and juicy)
Butter (melted and cooled)
Eggs
Coconut sugar
Powdered sugar
Cacao powder (dark)
Unsweetened almond milk
Lemon zest and juice (always use organic to avoid chemicals and wax in the peel)
Almond essence
Salt
Method
Start by washing and peeling the pears. Slice half a pear for decoration and cut the rest in 1-2 cm cubes. Cover with lemon juice to prevent from oxidising.
Roast and ground the almonds. Separately, slightly roast the flaked almonds for decoration to enhance the taste.
In a large bowl, mix the coconut sugar with the egg yolks and lemon zest. Use a hand mixer at low velocity to start, then increase to high and keep whisking until the volume almost doubles and the consistency becomes creamy.
Add the milk and melted butter (cooled). Mix with a spoon.
Sieve the flour, baking powder and cacao powder in a large bowl and incorporate it one spoon at a time into the creamy mix.
Add the crushed almonds and the almond essence.
Separately, add a little salt to the egg whites and beat with a handheld mixer until stiff. Add it gradually to the creamy mix and incorporate slowly, using a spoon.
Add the cut pears and mix carefully not to crush them.
Preheat the oven to 170 C Fan/180 regular/350 F/ Gas mark 4. Place paper parchment on a round baking tin (mine has 24 cm in diameter; it is OK to use a smaller one, but I would not recommend a larger one – your cake will be too flat.)
Empty the composition into the tray and spread it evenly without pressing down too much.
Sprinkle a layer of roasted almond flakes, then decorate with pear slices.
Bake for 40 minutes and do the toothpick test to check that your chocolate, pear and almond cake is ready. If the toothpick comes out wet, you might need an additional 5-10 minutes of baking.
Transfer to a rack and wait until cool to sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Serve with coffee or a glass of Prosecco if the occasion is right.
If it lasts, you could store the pear and almond chocolate cake in the fridge for 2-3 days (in an airtight container or covered with cling film) or in the freezer for up to three months. Preferably cut it in slices before freezing for easier defrosting.
I have made this Italian delight many times, and it never lasted more than a day and the next morning at our house. We put it down to being coffee addicts, but the truth is this cake is simply outstanding!
And there is that funny thing with visitors always arriving when there’s something baking in the oven. A bit of a mystery as to how that happens. I’m still unsure how long the wavelength of baking aroma is, but I’m sure these mysterious appearances have something to do with complex baking physics laws. As a result, my cakes will never see the inside of the freezer!
Buon appetito!
Pear and Almond Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 250 g white flour organic
- 100 g butter melted and cooled
- 120 g coconut sugar organic
- 4 pcs eggs organic, large
- 40 g cacao powder organic
- 6-7 tbsp almond milk unsweetened
- 150 g crushed almonds roasted
- 20 g flaked almonds roasted
- 3 pcs pear large
- 1 lemon zest and juice organic
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp almond essence
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- Choose large, ripe but firm pears. Wash and peel.
- Slice ½ pear for decoration and cut the rest in small cubes. Cover with lemon juice to prevent from oxidising.
- Roast the almonds, cool and grind finely. Slightly roast the flaked almonds for decoration to enhance the taste.
- In a large bowl, mix the coconut sugar with the egg yolks and lemon zest. Use a hand mixer at low velocity to start, then increase to high and keep whisking until the volume almost doubles and the consistency becomes that of soft cream.
- Add the milk and melted butter (cooled) and mix with a spoon.
- Sieve the flour, baking powder and cacao powder together in a large bowl and incorporate one spoon at the time into the creamy mix.
- Add the crushed almonds and the almond essence.
- Separately, add a little salt to the egg whites and beat with the handheld mixer until stiff.
- Add gradually to the creamy mix and incorporate slowly, using a spoon.
- Add the cut pears and mix carefully not to crush the pears.
- Preheat the oven to 170° C Fan/180° C regular oven/350° F/ Gas mark 4. Place paper parchment on a round baking tin (mine has 24 cm in diameter; it is OK to use a smaller one, but I would not recommend a larger one – your cake will be too flat.)
- Empty the composition into the tray and spread it evenly without pressing down too much.
- Sprinkle a layer of roasted almond flakes, then decorate with the pear slices. The pears' weight might sink them during baking, but I noticed that a thin layer of almond flakes underneath prevents this from happening.
- Bake for 40 minutes and do the toothpick test to check that your chocolate, pear and almond cake is ready. If the toothpick comes out wet, you might need to bake for additional 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer to a rack and wait until cool to sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Serve with coffee or a glass of Prosecco if the occasion is right.
Notes
I hope you enjoyed reading this romantic recipe and decided to give it a go! You can find more like this in the Savour the Flavour section of this blog or on my Pinterest board with the same name. Please share it on your desserts board; it will help this blog grow and motivate me to write more for your enjoyment! Thank you!
This pear and almond chocolate cake sounds divine! I love the mix of textures with juicy pears and crunchy almonds. Perfect for a cozy coffee break or a special dessert treat!
You are right! I hope you’ll give it a try soon, it really is exquisite. Enjoy!
lovely cake and my guests all enjoyed it
Hi there, the recipe does not say how many eggs to use! Can you tell me how many I should use?
Thanks for signalling the omission. I’ve added it now to the recipe card (4 eggs).
So yummy! I recently embarked on a new eating regimen according to TCM and discovered that I have to avoid certain foods like apples for example. But pears and chocolate are good for me so this will make a perfect dessert. Thank you!
I’ve never had a pear almond chocolate cake before but it sounds intriguing. Thanks for sharing.
I just love this recipe for Italian pear and almond chocolate cake! I love these 3 ingredients: almonds, chocolate, and pears and it is awesome to see them all together in one recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe for pear and almond chocolate cake looks mouthwateringly delicious. I always enjoy your recipes. Thank you for sharing this romantic treat.
Never had Pear Cake. It looks and sounds delicious.
Oh, this looks great. I have leftover pears from my CSA box ready to use…. looks like this is going to happen this week!
This is totally irresistible! My family loved it!
Great recipe! Will definitely try that!
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
Loved how easy to make and soooo delicious this was. My first time using pear in baking and it turned out perfectly!
the flavors and textures look amazing! I can’t wait to try this! Sounds so delicious!
The texture is amazing. I can’t wait to make this cake for my family.
This sounds like a delicious combination of flavors. I haven’t made a cake like this before and it is nice to make something different.
It is a bit different, thanks to inventive Italians, especially in their cuisine. Absolutely worth a try!
Simply delicious! I love pears and am always on the lookout for new dessert recipes. I just found one, yours.
I am absolutely certain that you’ll love it!
This is my kind of cake. Perfect for desserty any day of the week. Great take along to a party too.
Agreed! It is chocolate, after all – we all love it, in any form and shape!:)
I love that you used cacao powder and coconut sugar here in this recipe. Lovely cake. Can’t wait to give it a try.
This cake turned out very similar to one from my favorite Italian bakery. Absolutely love the combo and pears!
My whole family are suckers for soft cakes. So taking a soft cake an adding pear and almonds and chocolate sounds amazing to me. I will be making this soon.
This is one of the best flavour combinations! Pears team so we’ll with chocolate and yes, with a coffee this is a perfect dessert!
This looks SO good, adore the combo of pear and almond!
I love coffee cakes. This looks so delicious. No-fuss baking with delicious results. Perfect for weekend brunch too.
This sounds like a dream come true! Pears, almonds and chocolate? I absolutely LOVE the combo
I love pears and this is a great recipe! Thank you.
This looks delicious! Thank you for providing so much detail!
Ohhh…this with coffee…definitely! Wish I had a slice right now (as I’m slurping down the rest of my morning brew)!
This looks so good ! I can’t wait to try it 💛
Pear and chocolate go SO well together. This recipe looks amazing- I’ve already saved it to try.
I would have never thought to add pears and almonds into a chocolate cake. This looks really good and pretty easy to make. I will have to give this recipe a try next time I’m craving cake.
We have to thank the Italians for being so creative in everything, including the kitchen!:)
I’m so excited to make this recipe! My MIL gave me a few pears from a fruit basket she received. This dessert sounds perfect. Like you, treats don’t usually make it to the freezer in my house. We’ll be living in the moment and savoring every morsel. Thank you for the inspiration.
Everytime I visit your site I get hungry and have to go snack on something wishing it was your food. :”( Thank you so much for such a decadent dessert.
If only we could arrange an instant delivery system! haha The same happens to me when I read other recipes:)))
Oh my goodness this sounds amazing! I definitely need to make this soon!
I’ve never heard of this before, but it looks absolutely delicious! I’ve got to try this recipe some time. Thanks for sharing!
This looks delicious! My mother-in-law loves cake and this would be a great one to try. I love all three pictures you included. Nice job!
I love the combo of chocolate and almonds, and I’m sure the pear makes things even better. I’ll have to buy some pears soon, so I can try it out!
You won’t be disappointed!:)
Pear, almond AND chocolate??? I’m in! I love anything I can bake and have with my coffee. Can’t wait to make this!
I love European tortes! This reminds me of a cake I used to have in Germany. Delicious – thanks for the recipe!
I’ve never made a chocolate and pear cake so I was eager to bake this one up. It was better than I expected. A fast favorite!
I’m so glad you liked it! I’m thinking of the next one already!:))
I’ve got pears in my fridge just waiting to be used. I think this will be the perfect recipe for them.
Let me know how it turns up!:)
This looks and sounds amazing! I bet the combination of sweet pear and chocolate pair beautifully.
Ooo I definitely can see this being a romantic dessert but also see myself serving for breakfast with coffee 😂
love to try this! Really perfect with coffee and ingredients are easy I can maybe skip the egg. Thanks for sharing
If you can replace it with something that makes a fluffy froth, it should work just the same!
this looks delicious and healthy at the same time. thanks for sharing the recipe
What a fantastic recipe and so easy to make. I can taste it now with a chilled glass of prosecco :).
Thank you for sharing
Oh my goodness. Pear Almond AND chocolate … this could very well overtake the long standing #1 place of deserts for me. Move over Panna Cotta
The battle of Italian goodies! Haha! Tiramisu and this cake for me, although the Panna Cotta I had in a mountain lodge restaurant in Romania, made with organic buffalo’s milk, beats any other dessert on the planet!
hmmm what a delicious cake. I love pear tart. Thanks for the recipe. I would make it for Valentines day… but I hate sharing my treats 😂
Well, in this case, I can’t even call you greedy! I am with you! Hahaha
Thanks for sharing!:)
Thanks for sharing my Pear and Almond Chocolate Cake recipe! It shows under a Tiramisu, though. You might want to check the order of images, thanks