Chocolate Pear Hazelnut Cake

5 from 3 votes

A simple, not too sweet, chocolatey cake, perfect for breakfast or with an afternoon coffee, this Chocolate Pear Hazelnut Cake is perfect for fall.

Prep Time25

Cook Time45

Total Time1 10

Course: Afternoon Kaffee, Dessert

Cuisine: American, German

Keyword: Chocolate, Chocolate Cake, hazelnut, pears

Servings:

Calories: 305kcal

Equipment

9" metal springorm pan

Ingredients

Toppings

2 pears preferably bartlett
45 grams hazelnuts toasted and roughly chopped

Chocolate Cake Batter

150 grams unsalted butter softened
175 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 grams fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons espresso powder
3 eggs standard large, room temperature
90 grams hazelnut flour or almond flour
50 grams cocoa powder
100 grams sour cream or full fat greek yogurt
90 grams all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.

Prepare the Pears & Hazelnuts

Rinse the pears. Cut in half lengthwise and then lengthwise again.
Use a spoon, starting at the top of each quarter and carefully remove the core, scooping deeper where the seeds are and then coming back up at the bottom.
Slice the quarters into 1/4" slices and set aside. I usually end up needing 1 full pear and 3/4 of another.
Roughly chop the hazelnuts for the top and set aside.

Chocolate Cake Batter

In a medium bowl, beat together the softened butter, sugar, salt, espresso powder, almond extract, and vanilla extract until smooth, light and fluffy. You really gotta whip it so feel free to use an electric mixer. The whole mixture should lighten in color!
Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Ensure each egg has been fully mixed in before adding the next.
Pour in the hazelnut flour and sift in the cocoa powder, beat again.
Spoon in the sour cream, and mix until just combined
Lastly, pour in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
Mix once more until combined and smooth.
If not using this pan, spray the cake pan with your baking spray or grease and line with parchment paper.
Pour the chocolate cake batter into the prepared cake pan.
Tap the cake on the counter until the top is level.
Fan each quarter set of thinly sliced pears over the top of the cake, cover as much of the surface as possible.
Sprinkle the roughly chopped hazelnuts on top.

Bake

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, rotate the cake 180 degrees and bake for another 20ish minutes.
When the cake is finished baking, check it by sticking a toothpick into an exposed portion of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, or just with crumbs, the cake is fully baked.
Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool for 10 minutes before removing the spring form.
After 10 minutes, remove the springform.
Dust the top with powdered sugar and enjoy warm or at room temperature. Optionally serve with a lightly sweetened soft whipped cream.

Notes

Tips for making a chocolate pear hazelnut cake

It's super important that the ingredients are all at room temperature so that they incorporate smoothly and air can be whipped into them.
If you're in a hurry and your eggs are cold, place them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes first.
Technically any cocoa powder will work for this cake but I recommend this blended cocoa powder from Saco Pantry is my go-to and has been or years. It gives you the benefits of both dutch processed and natural cocoa in one - not to mention it's delicious chocolatey flavor.
I baked this cake in a 9" springform pan but a light colored metal round cake pan will work too! Dark pans tend to cause the cake to darken too quickly.
Triple check that your pan is the correct size and that your baking soda and baking powder haven't expired!
The hazelnut flour can easily be replaced with almond flour and the chopped hazelnuts can be replaced with sliced almonds!
If not using the non stick pan linked above, use a baking spray with flour in it to spray the bottom of your cake pan. Try not to spray the sides as it can make the cake rise oddly. Alternatively, grease the pan with soft butter and line the bottom with a round sheet of parchment paper.
Cover as much of the surface of the cake with the sliced pears, this will prevent the cake from puffing too much and swallowing the pears.
Testing to see if this cake is done can be tricky because of the pears. Try to find a spot, not in the middle but halfway between the middle and the edge where the cake is exposed and poke a toothpick in it. If it comes out clean or with just crumbs attached, you're good. If you still have gooey batter, continue baking in 5 minute increments.

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