Chocolate Hazelnut Pear Cake

Before the family finishes spreading your Passover chocolate spread on their matzah, reserve 2 tablespoons for this amazing chocolate cake!

1. 1

   Cut a circle of baking parchment to fit the base of a 25cm loose-bottomed tin.

2. 2

   Brush the inside of the tin with oil, then line the base with the parchment and brush again with more oil.

3. 3

   Spoon in 2 tablespoons caster sugar, swirl it around to coat the base and sides, then tip out any excess.

4. 4

   Preheat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

5. 5

   Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of hot water, remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate spread.

6. 6

   Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick, fold into the chocolate mixture, and then the ground hazelnuts.

7. 7

   In a separate bowl, with a clean whisk, beat the whites until they reach a soft peak (try not to whisk them too stiffly or you’ll have trouble folding them in).

8. 8

   Stir a spoonful of the whites into the chocolate mix, then carefully fold in the rest of them in 2 additions.

9. 9

   Spoon and level the mixture into the prepared tin.

10. 10

    Cut 4 slits through the thick part of each pear quarter, then arrange the pears over the top of the mixture, making a fanned shape.

11. 11

    Bake for 40 minutes until the pears are soft and the cake is cooked all the way through.

12. 12

    Leave to cool in the tin slightly before releasing it, then place on a rack to cool completely.