Gluten-Free Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

I’m really not one for cakes (cheesecake is the one exception, but that’s totally different). But I have to admit, every once in a blue moon there is nothing better than a huge cup of coffee and a slice of coffee cake. I absolutely loved this recipe. I actually only made it because I had all the ingredients on hand, but it was so simple and quick to get together. Perfect for a quick breakfast sweet or an easy last-minute tea/coffee date.

I have to say that this coffee cake is definitely at its best straight from the oven. Despite wrapping  the cake up nice and tight, the next day it was close to rock solid the next day. That’s just the way gluten-free flours tend to be. A quick 10, 15 seconds in the microwave and the problem was solved.

Gluten-Free Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Recipe from Celiac Central.

Ingredients

For the Cream Cheese Filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese – room temperature
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice

For the Cake:

• 1 ½ cups Gluten-Free Bisquick
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• ¼ cup butter – softened
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

For the Crumb Topping:

• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup softened butter – room temp
• 1/3 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (Bob’s Red Mill is fine.)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease a round 9 in. cake pan and set it aside.
2. Mix the cream cheese filling in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the butter, milk, eggs, vanilla and sugar. Gradually add the flour and mix until well combined.
4. Spread about a little more than half of the batter in the bottom of the pan. Next put the cream cheese filling on top and try to spread around. (It may be difficult, but using the back of a tablespoon works well.)
5. Lastly, put the remainder of the dough batter on top.
6. In a small bowl, using a pastry blender tool or 2 forks, combine the topping ingredients until it resembles crumbs. Sprinkle over the batter in the pan.
7. Bake for about 20-25 minutes (I would start checking it around 20). Insert a tooth pick into the cake and it should come out clean and dry when done.
8. Cool well before dusting the top with sifted confectioner’s sugar, if you like. After cooling, be sure to keep covered for freshness.

Gluten-Free Salted Caramel Mocha Bundt Cakes

So I guess now that Thanksgiving has come and gone here in the States, I guess that means the holiday season is officially upon. I must admit I am a bit of Grinch. Mainly because I think christmas has just gotten far too out of hand. There is only one thing that I absolutely adore about the holiday season and that’s the obscene amount of baking that I can do. It’s the one time of the year that mass quantities of baking are socially acceptable.

I’ve already started thinking of fun and new recipes I can start testing out on my friends and family. It’s great having a willing and able built-in test audience, especially since I’m not too keen on sweets. I light of my mini dessert obsession this recipe seemed like the perfect combination of experiment and great taste. I really wanted to try out my new mini bundt pan (how fun is the word ‘bundt’?). I’m not sure if it was me, the recipe, the oven or the pan, but it was rough going when things came out of the oven. Luckily, after a bit of coaxing, everyone got their act together and cooperated in the end. The salted caramel flavor made this chocolate cake even richer. Add in the frosting and it was one of the sweetest and richest desserts I have ever come across. I decided to sprinkle on a bit of flakey sea salt to enhance the caramel flavor and cut the sweetness just a bit.

Gluten-Free Salted Caramel Mocha Bundt Cakes

For the Cake

• 2 cups Better Batter all-purpose gluten-free flour
• ¾ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 extra-large eggs at room temperature, beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cups International Delight Salted Caramel Mocha Flavor

For Frosting

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 Tablespoons International Delight Salted Caramel Mocha Flavor

For the Frosting

1. Mix powdered sugar with International Delight. Beat with electric mixer on low. If the mixture is too thick for frosting, add in more International Delight. If it is too thin, add in more powdered sugar.

For the Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Grease mini bundt pan or baking pan of choice.
2. In a large bowl, place the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the butter, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and International Delight, and mix to combine well. The batter will be thickly pourable.
3. Fill the wells of the pan. about halfway full with batter. Shake from side to side to distribute the batter in an even layer. Place in the center of the preheated oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. The cake should be a little spongy, not dense.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Place one mini cake on a piece of parchment paper, bottom side down. Drizzle a generous amount of frosting on top of the cake.

The International Delight Facebook page shares coupon savings and a chance to share your delight this holiday season.

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

Pear & Cranberry Dutch Baby Pancake

So, it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow here in the States. The last thing over everyone’s minds is probably breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so it shouldn’t be overlooked just because the main event is later in the day. I’ve the hard way over cooking several Thanksgiving dinners to know that a hungry chef is a cranky chef. Take a quick break this morning and make a delicious breakfast to get you through the day. I have to admit, my cooking time was over 30 minutes (more like 35 than 25), so not the world’s quickest breakfast. I’m going to write that off the increased baking time to the gluten-free flour, which is temperamental at best.

This was the first time I ever had or made a Dutch baby pancake and I have to say that it lived up to the hype. I would highly recommend this for special breakfast or a delicious brunch.

Pear & Cranberry Dutch Baby Pancake
Adapted from Williams-Somona.

• 3 Bartlett or D’Anjou pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 3/4 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used Better Batter.)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
• Maple syrup for serving

1. In a bowl, stir together the pears, cranberries, the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the cinnamon. In a 9-inch French skillet over medium heat, melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter. Add the apple mixture and sauté until the pears are tender and the cranberries have broken down, about 8-12 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Put an 11-inch French skillet or ovenproof sauté pan in a cold oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
3. Meanwhile, put the eggs in a blender and blend on medium speed until very frothy, about 1 minute. Add the flour, salt, the 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar and the milk and blend on medium speed for 2 minutes, stopping the blender to scrape down the sides as needed.
4. When the oven is preheated, put the remaining 3 Tablespoons butter in the hot skillet and return it to the oven until the butter melts; do not let it brown. Carefully pour the batter into the hot skillet, then distribute the pear-cranberry mixture evenly on top. Bake until the Dutch baby is lightly browned and the sides have risen, about 25 minutes.
5. Remove the skillet from the oven, dust the Dutch baby with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately with maple syrup. Serves 4 to 6.

 

Baby Cheesecakes with Toffee Pears

Earlier today I was discussing baked goods with my friend Zack (we don’t like them). This whole conversation came out of a discussion of birthday cakes (it’s my birthday today, we were just randomly discussing cakes). I like savory things much better. Personally I would be much happier if someone gave me a wheel of brie or blue cheese, stuck a candle in it and called it a day. There is one exception to my dessert rule and that would be cheesecake. I do like cheesecake.

This isn’t your typical cheesecake. There is blue cheese involved, which is initially why I wanted to make this. Combining my favorite cheese and my favorite dessert just seemed like a brilliant idea. I was slightly hesitant about the fact that there is no sugar added into the cheesecake. One of them fell apart when I was removing them from the muffin tin and I stole a bite and it was not a good idea. Luckily when I served them with the pears, it was a very enjoyable (and unusual) combination. I had enough crust for 14 cheesecakes, but only enough filling for 13. I would recommend only doing 12 as some of my came out a little thin on the cheesecake end of things. Luckily I like my cheesecake on the crustier side of things, so I wasn’t too bothered by that.

Baby Cheese Cakes with Toffee Pears
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens.

• 3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1-8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4 cup dairy sour cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons whipping cream
• 4 pears, cored and sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup lightly toasted broken walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line eight 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with foil or paper bake cups; set aside.
2. For crust, in bowl stir together oats, 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons butter until combined. Spoon 2 rounded tablespoons oat mixture into each prepared muffin cup. With bottom of a narrow glass press down lightly. Bake 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on wire racks. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
3. For cheesecake filling, in medium bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until smooth. Add egg and beat just until combined. Stir in blue cheese and sour cream.
4. Spoon well-rounded tablespoons of the cheese mixture into each crust-lined muffin cup. Bake 20 minutes or until slightly puffed and set. Cool 30 minutes. Remove from cups. Place on tray, cover and refrigerate at least 2 or up to 24 hours. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
5. For Toffee Pears, in large skillet melt the 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the 1/2 cup brown sugar and cream. Cook and stir until bubbly. Add pears. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until pears are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Cool slightly.
6. To serve, remove foil or paper liners from cheesecakes. Spoon about 1 tablespoon brown sugar-cream mixture into each of the dessert dishes. Top with a cheesecake. Spoon pears around cheesecake. Sprinkle each with toasted walnuts.

Baked Applesauce Donuts

I really wanted to make some autumnally appropriate baked goods, but it’s still a million degrees here and the last few weeks the internet has been overloaded by pumpkin. Pumpkin is not my thing. It looks gross and even though I can’t remember what it tastes like (I’ve only had it twice), I’m pretty sure it tastes gross too. Apple seemed to be a seasonal flavor that was more my speed.

I had two problems with these when they were done. They were extremely dense. Super dense baked goods can just be the outcome of gluten free baking. It happens. I’ve also never made donuts before, let alone baked, gluten free donuts, so I’m not quite sure why these were so dense, but they were. The donuts were also insanely sweet. I know donuts are meant to be sweet, but I think the combination of sugar and applesauce (even though it was unsweetened) was just too much. If I made these again, I would probably scale down the sugar even more to maybe just 2 tablespoons. Because they were so sweet, I decided not to make a glaze for them and warm from the oven, they did not need one either.

Baked Applesauce Donuts
Inspired by this recipe.

 

This recipe will make 6 round donuts or 4 cruller/bar donuts.

• 1 cup all purpose flour (I used Better Batter)
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a donut pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir in applesauce, eggs, vanilla and butter. Beat together until well blended.
3. Fill each doughnut cup approximately 3/4 full. Bake 8 to 10 minutes for a round donut pan or 15 to 20 minutes for a cruller/bar pan in the preheated oven, until donuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan.

Gluten Free Strawberry Nutella Muffins

There’s a man with a van who hangs out around the closest big intersection to my house. He sells things out of the back of his van. Primarily berries and cherries, but sometimes there are avocados and mangoes or pumpkins and pineapples; it kind of just depends on the season. I live about 40 minutes away from one of California’s biggest strawberry growing regions, so we pretty much get them year round. They are just starting to come into their main season at the moment. The berry man has become my go to source for strawberries and other various items, because 1. he’s cheap, 2. he has a hand painted sign that says ‘Picked Fresh Today’ and 3. they are always delicious, which makes me believe the sign and love the price even more. I drove by the berry man the other day and got the genius idea of buying a full flat of strawberries, which turned out to be able SIX pounds, which is sort of a lot. I felt pretty proud of myself getting 6 pounds of strawberries for just over $2 a pound, especially considering how expensive they are in the grocery store, but as soon as I got home, I realized I had to figure out what to do with six pounds of strawberries…

My first strawberry endeavor was this delicious muffin recipe. It’s perfect for a sweet breakfast treat and also makes a pretty satisfying dessert. Quite frankly, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with Nutella. The fresh strawberries only make the Nutella even more enjoyable. My favorite part of these muffins is the little Nutella line that runs through the center. It basically ensures you get a bit of Nutella in every bite!

Strawberry Nutella Muffins (adapted rom Prevention RD)

• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (I used Better Batter)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
• 1/3 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together canola oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.
3. Mix the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir, you don’t want to over mix. The batter will be very thick; fold in the strawberries.
4. Fill each muffin cup half way with batter. Next, add a small spoonful of Nutella to each muffin cup. Cover the Nutella filling with the remaining batter.
5. Bake muffins for 22-26 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack. Yield: 12 muffins.

Japanese Cheesecake

And I’m back! I disappeared over the last week or so and it was kind of accidental. Basically, there was a snafu with a power cord before a big trip. Oops. I had all sorts of grand plans to share delicious recipes while I was gone, but onwards and upwards.

Where did I disappear to exactly?

JAPAN!

Tokyo to be exact and it was amazing. One of my good friends is working in Tokyo at the moment, so it was the perfect excuse to visit. Apart from exploring the city, meeting some amazing people and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, the highlight of the trip was definitely the food! Every meal I had was better than the last one. I ate a lot of things that I have had the Americanized version of before and wow, I have been missing out. I also ate a lot of things outside of my normal food comfort zone. You have to be a little adventurous when you travel.

The only downside of all the amazing food, is the fact that I will never be able to eat sushi again, which makes me sad. One morning we woke up at 3.30 to get down to the Tsukiji Fish Market and see the tuna auction. Afterwards we went and had sushi for breakfast. I cannot even put into words how amazing this sushi was. All other sushi has been completely ruined for me. According to my friend I had a look of total disgust on my face the entire time we were eating. Yes, I was totally disgusted, because all other sushi will just pale in comparison for the rest of my life. But it’s kind of okay, since I guess that’s just an excuse to go back!

Now, let’s get back to business.

Cheesecake is one of the few desserts I really, really like. Well, love actually. Naturally, I was intrigued by Japanese cheesecake.

This cheesecake is very different  than your standard American cheesecake. The consistency reminds me more of a sponge cake or angel food cake combined with custard than an American cheesecake. It’s very light and airy. It also does not have a crust of any kind. The crust is kind of , sort of, my absolute favorite part of an American-style cheesecake, so off the bat this cheesecake had a disadvantage to winning me over.

I topped my Japanese cheesecake with matcha (green tea) powder (not mold, I swear) and a raspberry sauce. Both helped give a bit of color and flavor to the dessert. I did enjoy this cheesecake, but it probably won’t be on the top of my must make again list.

Japanese Cheesecake (adapted from allrecipes.com)

• 6 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup white sugar, divided
• 4 egg whites
• 2/3 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottom of a 9 inch round cake pan cake pan with parchment paper.
2. Warm the cream cheese and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cream cheese is melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and half of the sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer. Fold the cream cheese mixture into the yolks. Sift in the flour and cornstarch, and stir until blended.
4. In a separate bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites with cream of tartar until they can hold a soft peak. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining sugar and continue whipping to stiff peaks. Fold egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Pour into the prepared cake pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet with sides.
5. Place the baking sheet with the cheesecake into the oven, and pour water into the baking sheet until it is half way full. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Continue to bake for 15 more minutes. Let the cake cool before removing from the pan.
6. Run a knife around the outer edge of the cake pan, and invert onto a plate to remove the cake. Peel off the parchment paper and invert onto a serving plate so the top of the cake is on top again.

No-Bake Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Oatmeal Cookies!

Does anybody remember the great peanut butter price rising scare of 2011? Well, when I heard about the cataclysmic events that were going to be caused by peanut butter prices skyrocketing, I did what any sane person would do; Ran to Costco and bought the biggest jar of peanut butter I could find and since this is Costco, it obviously came in a 2-pack. Fast forward to this week and as I was looking for a large can of tomatoes in the bottom of my kitchen pantry, I stumbled upon, not one, but two unopened Costco-sized jars of peanut butter. Fortunately, processed peanut butter could survive the apocalypse, so it was still good. It was upon seeing these two jars that I realized that my visions of becoming rich via the illicit peanut butter black market I had hoped would emerge as a result of worldwide peanut butter prices rising, that I should probably set about actually using some of the peanut butter I have been hoarding.

Enter these cookies! These are the easiest cookies in the world to make! There’s no baking, there’s peanut butter, there’s chocolate, there’s oatmeal, what’s not to love?

I cut the original recipes suggested sugar in half and they were still plenty sweet. I think 2 cups would be way too much. My only word of advice is to use the fridge or freezer to help them set. Maybe it was because it was unseasonably hot the day I made these (around 80F/26C, in February… Gross.), but they would not harden. I stuck the cookie sheet in the fridge for about 30 minutes and they were perfect.

No-Bake Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups oatmeal (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats)
• Waxed or parchament paper

In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper on a cookie sheet, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened. Throw the cookie sheet in the fridge to help speed up the process.

 

 

Gluten Free Walnut Bread

(Un)Fortunately, my dogs decided that 5.30 am was an appropriate time to wake up yesterday morning. I’m the type of person, that once I’m awake, I am w i d e  awake. So, instead of pretending to try to sleep, I decided to bake. I made bread! I don’t know why, but this felt like a major accomplishment. Maybe because it was my first baking adventure of the new year or maybe because there was kneading and yeast and rising; I had never done any of that before. Part of the sense of accomplishment came from how good this bread was.

The end result was good. Like, real, full of gluten, good. I can eat gluten, Mama CC cannot, and even though I don’t eat gluten often, I am still the official compare-er(?) of ‘real’ bread and gluten-free bread. I couldn’t tell the difference. This bread had a really crunchy crust, which I feel like a lot of gluten-free breads lack. The crust reminded me of the type of loaf you get in bakeries. I definitely cut the bread too soon, it was still very hot, but I was too excited to wait. The bread it self was slightly denser than ‘real’ bread, but much, much lighter than most store-bought gluten-free bread that we’ve tried. Mama CC says it’s the closest thing she has had to real bread since she found out she had Celiac, which I would call a huge endorsement. All around, this recipes was a winner!

I was a little wary of the molasses/sugar that was added to the bread. I was concerned that the bread would turn out really sweet and more dessert like than bread like. I used molasses and you couldn’t even taste it.

I know I just went on and on about how great this gluten free bread is, but if gluten isn’t an issue for you, whole wheat flour would be perfect for this recipe. The end result would be nice and earthy with a nutty walnut touch.

Gluten Free Walnut Bread (from Tesco Real Food)

• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 320ml (11fl oz) milk
• 450g (1lb) gluten-free or whole wheat flour (I used Better Batter)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons molasses or unrefined dark muscovado sugar
• 50 grams (2 ounces) walnuts, chopped
• 2 teaspoons quick yeast/1 instant yeast packet if you are in the US

1. Beat the vinegar, oil, molasses if you are using it, and eggs into the milk in a jug. Put the flour, salt, sugar if you are using it, and nuts into a bowl, and stir in the yeast. Make a well in the center, and pour in the liquid from the jug. With a dinner knife, combine all the ingredients until you have a sticky dough. Turn out onto a surface you have dusted with gluten-free flour, sprinkle some on the top and knead the dough for about five minutes until it is smooth.
2. Lightly grease a baking tin, and formt the dough into a rough sausage shape, placing in the tin. Cover with oiled cling film, and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Meanwhile heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas mark 7. Bake the loaf for 40-45 minutes. Turn out and cool thoroughly on a rack before slicing.

Flourless Chocolate & Pear Cake

This cake is so easy to make. I was surprised it turned out so light. It really has a great texture, which is different than most other flourless cakes I’ve made. The cake is chocolatey without being overwhelmingly so. My pears sank a bit, but that did really matter to me. If you are more of a perfectionist when it comes to your desserts, make sure to whip the egg whites well to prevent sinking. I let mine sit a bit and had to re-whip them.

If you need a quick, last minute dessert for a Christmas or Hanukkah dinner, you probably have most of these ingredients on hand already. The cake would be just as good with or without the pears, so don’t worry about them if you don’t have them.You could definitely substitute almonds for the hazelnuts or apples or even canned pears for the fresh pears depending on what you have on hand. I would definitely use this recipe again with and without the pears for a simple and fast flourless cake. I only added powdered/confectioners sugar and freshly whipped cream for serving and it was perfect.

Flourless Chocolate & Pear Cake (from BBCGoodFood.com)

• 85g butter/roughly 1/3 cup, plus 1 tbsp extra for tin
• 85g golden caster sugar/roughly 2/3 cup, plus extra for tin
• 85g gluten-free dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1 tbsp brandy
• 3 eggs, separated
• 85g hazelnuts, toasted and ground in a food processor
• 4 very ripe pears, peeled, halved and cored
• icing sugar , for dusting

1. Cut a circle of baking parchment to fit the base of a 25cm loose-bottomed tin. Melt 1 tbsp butter and brush the inside of the tin, then line the base with the parchment and brush again with more butter. Spoon in 2 tbsp caster sugar, swirl it around to coat the base and sides, then tip out any excess.
2. Heat oven to 350F/180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of hot water, remove from the heat, stir in the brandy and leave to cool. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick; fold into the chocolate with the hazelnuts.
3. 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). Stir a spoonful of the whites into the chocolate mix, then carefully fold in the rest of them in 2 additions. Spoon into the prepared tin. Level, then arrange the pears over the mixture, cut-side down. Bake for 40 mins until the pears are soft and the cake is cooked all the way through. Leave to cool in the tin slightly before releasing it, then place on a rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar and serve with crème fraîche.