This is a great recipe to use your fresh ripe pears. I was fortunate this fall season to receive a box from a friend of mine who has pear trees in the backyard. I made a few recipes using the pears, and this one, a chocolate pear cake is delightful. The flavor improves by the next day as the pear juices continue to permeate through the chocolate cake and is a nice dessert finish to an autumn meal. This is a translation and an adaptation from Lecker.de's Birne Helene-Kuchen recipe. I removed a few ingredients and used a container of quark in place of Schlagsahne. (My directions below are not a direct translation of Lecker's recipe, rather describes my procedure.) Suitable for a 9x13 rectangular baking pan. Ingredients are by weight. Working with European recipes requires a kitchen scale. Schokoladen Birnen Helene-Kuchen Chocolate Pear Helene-Cake 1 8oz container of Vermont Farm & Cheese Company's Quark (as a substitute you can use an equivalent amount of strained ricotta, creme fraiche, or sour cream) Approximately 4 ripe pears: peeled, cored, and halved 2 8oz bars of dark chocolate, chopped (reserve 1/3 of the chocolate) 175g unsalted organic butter 5 organic eggs 1 package of Dr Oetker's Vanilla Sugar 1 pinch of salt 200g organic sugar 250g all purpose flour 1TB baking powder powdered sugar to top (after cooling) Butter and flour the baking pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a separate bowl mix the flour and baking powder. In a mixing bowl blend together eggs, quark, vanilla sugar, salt, and sugar until it becomes light and fluffy. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Pour the butter over the chopped chocolate let 1/3 of the chopped chocolate remain to the side. Let the chocolate sit in the warm butter until it melts. Let it cool slightly. Slowly pour the chocolate and butter mixture into the egg mixture while blending low to medium speed. Slowly add the flour and baking powder. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Top with the remaining chopped chocolate. Add the pears in rows across the pan, with the cored area face down. Gently place the pear into the batter. As the cake bakes the batter will rise and cover part of the pears. Do not push the pear into the batter. Bake for 35-45 minutes. (Check 10 minutes to the end of baking time). The pears are moist and will release their juices into the cake. When the edges of the cake have gently pulled away from the sides of the pan and the toothpick comes out clean it's finished. If testing with a toothpick, avoid testing the areas on or around the pears. Enjoy! Lecker suggests serving it with an apricot jelly and sprigs of mint. I'm sure that would be delicious! 
Add Comment A Celebration Cake: A Morning Glory Cake 01/03/2010
 Morning Glory Cake As I flipped through binders and cookbooks for ideas on what to bring to a New Years celebration, I came across a recipe in Nancy Roan's Boyertown Area Cookery or the Boyertown Housewife & Kitchen Efficiency Guide & Companion (1985- Boyertown Area Historical Society). If you're not familiar with Roan's Boyertown Area Cookery, it is an excellent reference to cuisine in SE Pennsylvania, and places an emphasis on PA German foods. Roan's Boyertown Area Cookery has recipes for Pa German baked goods like Apple Fritters, Corn Pie, Apeas Cakes, Fastnachts, Funny Cakes, Shoo-Fly Pies, in addition to meats and vegetable dishes like pork and sauerkraut. Roan includes many variations of the dishes and sites manuscript sources. Every other page includes a small pen and ink illustration denoting a tool, process, or finished product. Ruth B. Wagner's recipe for Morning Glory Cake is featured in Roan's book. It is a cake made from many thinly baked layers of a vanilla cake. Each layer is cut into quarters, then each cone is rolled and dipped into colored sugar. Contrary to her recipe (and the PA German diet) I made an updated version using soy milk, rum, and raw sugar. Used copies of the book can be found online, but the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center, Pennsburg, PA has copies in their gift shop. The Goshenhoppen Historians in Green Lane, PA may carry additional copies as well. Morning Glory Cake Adapted from Ruth Wagner's recipe Boyertown Area Cookery, Boyertown Area Historical Society, 1985 4 eggs- reserve one egg white 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup raw turbinado sugar 1 cup hot soy milk 2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon rum 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Topping: reserved egg white, sanding/granulated sugar Beat eggs in a medium size mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar. Beat 20 minutes. While egg and sugar is mixing, prepare 8" cake pans with butter and flour or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Return to batter and add milk, vanilla, and rum until blended. Slowly add baking powder and flour until blended. Using a soup ladle, pour one scoop into the bottom of the cake pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter across the bottom of the pan. Add more if necessary, but keep the layers thin. Repeat process to two other cake pans, and bake three at a time for approximately 7 minutes or until cake layers appear finished. Remove cake pans from oven, cut each layer into quarters. Roll each wedge into a cone shape and press to retain shape. Cake will not roll when completely cool. Work while each layer is hot or warm. Set cones aside and continue the process of pouring, baking, and rolling cones. Pour colored sugar into a small bowl. Using the reserved egg white, dip each wide end of the cone into the egg white. Dip again into the colored sugar. Arrange each cone on the cake plate to form a circle. Stack layers, cutting off the tip of the cone if need be to form a dome like shape. The cake does not need to be sliced when served- hungry guests can remove one cone at a time. Note: If you are cautious about using raw egg whites, use fresh egg whites, pasteurized egg whites, or water. | ArchivesOctober 2011 CategoriesAll |
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