Pear, Dark Chocolate & Caramelised Pecan Cake - with @gatherandfeast

Learn how to make this easy, no-fuss, delicious cake! For this recipe we partnered with Ashley Alexander, founder of Gather and Feast. Keep reading and find out all the steps.

Serves: 12

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 5 minutes cooking time, plus cooling time

Dietary: Vegetarian, dairy free, (gluten free options)

For this recipe Ashley used our Roperta collection.

INGREDIENTS

Cake

250ml (1 cup) extra virgin olive oil

1 cup raw cane sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

3 eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups plain all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bi-carb soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 firm pears, cored and cut into small 1cm pieces

150g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Caramelised Pecan Topping

1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of flakey sea salt

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F (fan forced oven).

Grease and line a 23cm/9inch round springform cake tin then set aside.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the olive oil and sugar.

Add the vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon, and whisk well to combine.

Now add the flour, baking powder, bi-carb soda, and salt, and fold together until almost combined.

Add the chopped pears and dark chocolate and fold together to combine.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, olive oil, and salt.

Mix well and then sprinkle over the cake batter.

Bake the cake at 180°C/350°F for 1 hour and 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the tin.

Serve warm, at room temperature, or store the cake in the fridge and serve cold.

Notes: For a gluten free option use a gluten free baking blend flour that can be used in a 1:1 ratio to

plain/all purpose flour.