Helen Goh's Chocolate, Pear and Olive Oil Cake for World Chocolate Day

Today is World Chocolate Day, thought to be the date of introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550.  I am all for a day that involves the consumption of chocolate, so I baked a cake in which chocolate features front and centre for the occasion.

This cake is Helen Goh's Chocolate, Pear and Olive Oil Cake.   It appeared magically from my pile of recipes when I was tidying up yesterday, which as far as I was concerned was a sign.

This cake comprises a soft, velvety chocolate cake base, topped with sliced fresh pear, then crowned with a sandy chocolate crumble - perfect!  The moist sweet pears really make the cake for me, although I did enjoy the soft, melting texture of the cake itself. 

To make this cake, you will need:

Crumble

75g self-raising flour
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
45g brown sugar
50g slivered almonds (I used flaked almonds)
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Cake

80g chopped dark chocolate
125ml boiling water
2 eggs
150g brown sugar
100ml olive oil
120g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 small ripe pears, peeled cored and cut into 1cm thick slices

For the crumble:

Put all of the dry ingredients into a small bowl.  Pour over the olive oil and mix together with a fork until a sandy crumble forms.  Chill in the fridge while you make the cake.

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius and grease and line a 20cm x 10cm loaf tin, leaving some paper overhanging on each side of the cake tin to help to remove the cake later.

Put the chopped chocolate in a small bowl and pour over the boiled water.  Allow the mixture to stand for 30 seconds before whisking together until smooth. Allow to cool.

Beat the eggs, brown sugar and olive oil together in the bowl of a stand mixer until pale and creamy.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a small bowl.

Reduce the mixer speed to low.  Beat in one third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the chocolate mixture, then repeat, alternating the flour and chocolate, with the final third of the flour last.  Beat until just incorporated.

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin.  Top the cake batter with the pear slices, overlapping them to cover, and finally, scatter over the cocoa crumble.

Bake the cake in your preheated oven for 60 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack, before lifting the cake carefully onto a serving plate, using the baking paper overhang to assist.

Serve with cream or icecream.

Happy World Chocolate Day!