Spiced Chocolate Pear Cake

Directions

For the spiced hazelnut streusel

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients for the streusel topping in a small mixing bowl.
2. Work in the cubes of butter until the mixture comes together. The mixture should resemble coarse pieces of sand, with some larger pieces mixed in. Set the bowl in the fridge to chill while preparing the chocolate cake.

For the spiced chocolate cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Line a 9" (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper, along the bottom. Lightly grease the sides of the pan. Set aside.
2. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, cake flour, dutch process cocoa powder, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a whisk, whisk together oil, sugars and eggs together until smooth well combined.
4. Stir in the dry ingredients, milk and sour cream to the wet, alternating in this order: dry, sour cream dry, milk, dry. Leave a few flour or liquid streaks before adding the next.
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top of the batter. Top with sliced pears.
   Top the batter with the chilled streusel topping. Feel free to clump pieces together for larger crumbles or scatter smaller pieces over the top of the batter.
6. Gently press the streusel into the cake batter and pears.
7. Bake at 350 F (177C) for 50-60 minutes. Around 45 minutes, do the first check of the cake.
8. Check to make sure the struesel isn't burning. If the top is browning too much, place a tent foil over the top for the remainder of the time. Bake an additional 5 minutes before checking for doneness.
9. The edges of the cake will have pulled slighly from the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If the toothpick comes out wet or "gummy," check every 5-10 until done.
10. Remove the spiced chocolate pear cake from the oven to cool in the pan for 20-25 minutes. Gently loosen the side of the springform pan. Remove the ring and allow the cake to cool to room temperature.
11. Top with a drizzle of warm chocolate hazelnut spread, slice and enjoy!

NOTES

• Cake flour: to make your own DIY cake flour, measure out 1/2 c all purpose flour. scoop out 1 tbsp flour. add back in 1 tbsp cornstarch. sift together 3-4 times.
• This recipe is shared from our friend Olives & Thyme. Click here to see the original post with even more helpful hints and tips!