Vegan Chocolate Cake with Poached Pears

• Vegetarian

• Produce

  • 1 Orange, zest and juice of
  • 2 Oranges, zest of
  • 5 Pears, small

• Condiments

  • 1 1/2 tbsp Maple syrup

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 cup All-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp Baking soda
  • 135 g Bittersweet chocolate
  • 1 1/4 cups Brown sugar
  • 6 Cardamom pods
  • 2 sticks Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 10 Cloves, whole
  • 1/2 tsp Cloves, ground
  • 1/4 cup Cocoa powder
  • 5/8 cup Icing sugar
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 5 Star anise

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 1/2 tsp Apple cider or white vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Neutral oil

• Dairy

  • 1 3/4 cup Plant milk

• Beer, Wine & Liquor

  • 1 bottle Red wine

Found on cilantroandcitronella.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of red wine (certified vegan)
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 10 whole cloves
• 6 cardamom pods
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 5 star anise
• The zest and juice of 1 orange
• 5 small pears, peeled
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• A pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup plant milk, divided
• 35 grams (1.25 oz) dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider or white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
• The zest of two oranges
• 1 cup plant milk
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) dark chocolate

Directions

• Combine everything except the pears in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add the pears and simmer, partially covered, for 20 – 30 minutes or until the pears are tender. Remove the pears and set aside to cool.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line an 18 cm (7 inch) spring form pan with parchment/baking paper.
• Combine all the dry ingredients (first seven) in a bowl and mix well.
• In a separate bowl, warm the plant milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Add the chocolate and stir to melt. You may need to pop it back into the microwave for 10 second intervals until the chocolate is totally melted. Add in all the remaining wet cake ingredients and mix well.
• Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
• Pour the batter into your lined spring form pan. Place the pears into the batter.
• Bake for 32 minutes. After this time, the top of the cake will likely be baked. Stick a skewer into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean, the cake is done on the bottom. If it isn’t done, cover the top with tin foil to prevent it from burning and repeat the skewer test every five minutes. My cake took about 45 minutes in total to bake through.
• Allow the cake to cool before removing the pan and slicing.
• Combine the plant milk and chocolate in a small pan a warm over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is melted.
• Cut the cake so that you’re cutting the pears in half and each slice has half a pear on each side. Sprinkle with icing sugar and drizzle over some chocolate sauce. Strain the pear poaching wine and warm it to serve alongside as mulled wine.