Chocolate Pear Cake – Authentic German Recipe

The Chocolate pear cake is an original German cake and is very easy to bake. If you don’t have the packaged vanilla sugar you can make it yourself – See Recipe below OR click here.  The recipe is also using egg liquor which you can get in some special liquor stores. The alternative would be the Pennsylvania Dutch egg nogg.  You can make the liqueur from scratch – Here’s the recipe:   How to Make Egg Liqueur   or use alternatively brandy or natural rum flavor. Happy Baking!

Ingredients Chocolate Pear Cake

600 g ripe pears
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp powdered sugar or maple syrup
100 g chocolate semi sweet
160 g butter (room temperature)
3 eggs (medium size)
110 g sugar
1 package vanilla sugar Dr Oetker, 0.3oz
– How to make Vanilla Sugar –

15 g unsweetened cocoa
240 g flour
0.5oz baking powder (not baking soda) pref. from Dr Oetker
80 ml heavy cream or milk
70 ml egg liqueur (optional) – alternatively use some brandy or rum flavor
– How to Make Egg Liquor –
3 tbsp apricot jam

Baking Instructions Chocolate Pear Cake

STEP 1
– Peel pears, cut in quarters, remove cores. Then cut the quarters again.
– Mix lemon juice with powdered sugar or maple syrup and pour over pears.
– Let pears sit for 30 min, have them covered  and placed in the fridge.
– Chop chocolate coarse and with double boiler method melt it on low heat. Let cool off a bit.
– Mix soft butter with sugar and vanilla sugar until you get a cream.
– Add one egg after the other, mix well.

STEP 2
– Add warm chocolate (it should not be hot!). Mix until you get a thickened cream.
– Mix flour with baking powder and cocoa, sieve it, add alternating with heavy cream/milk and egg liqueur to the chocolate cream by using a wooden spoon.
– Grease a spring form (26cm) or layer it with parchment paper.
– Pour dough into spring form and spread even with a spatula.
– Press the pear pieces gently into the dough.

STEP 3
– Bake in pre-heated oven for about 50 min (convection) on 160 C or 320 F (time can vary depending on the oven; do the test by poking the cake with a tooth pic or skewer to find out if it is done. It is done when no dough is sticking on the skewer).
– Warm jam on medium heat and when the cake is done, spread over the hot cake.
– Let cake cool off in the form, then release and place on a cake plate.
– Serve the cake with whipped cream that is sprinkled with a hint of cinnamon.

Makes a Wonderful Gift: The Oktoberfest Box