Chocolate and Pear Cake
Photo: Maria Grossmann
Serves 10–12
— 135ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
— 6 tbsp aquafaba (chickpea water)
— 150g date sugar
— 100g cacao powder
— 250g gluten-free flour
— ¼ tsp vanilla powder
— ½ tsp ground cardamom
— 1 tsp baking powder
— Pinch of salt
— 3 tbsp soya yoghurt
— 2 tbsp almond milk
— 2 pears
— 1 handful hazelnuts
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the base of a round baking tin (22–23 cm diameter) with baking paper and grease the sides with olive oil.
First, whisk the aquafaba in a stand mixer on a high speed for 5 minutes. It will look very similar to egg white and have cloud-like waves, just as egg white does.
In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together until well incorporated with a spoon. Add the yoghurt, olive oil and almond milk and mix well. Then pour the aquafaba onto this mixture and very carefully fold it in; be very gentle and slow to try to keep in as much lightness and fluffiness as possible.
Pour the cake mix into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Make sure the cake mix is around 2–3 cm deep.
Halve the pears and remove the core and stalk, then slice them thinly. Arrange them like an angel’s wings spreading out on the top of the cake mix, or choose your own design! Then chop the hazelnuts roughly and sprinkle them onto the top of the cake.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Check the middle of the cake with a cocktail stick: if it comes out without any of the cake mix sticking to it, then it is ready.
Note here that the baking time can vary greatly due to what baking tin you use.