Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake with Roasted Pears

Steps

1. 1Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease and line a 22cm round, springform cake tin.
2. 2Place the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth then set aside to cool.
3. 3Place the cooled butter and chocolate into a large mixing bowl with the sugar, almond flour and egg yolks and stir to combine.
4. 4Place the egg whites into a separate bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk until stiff. Gently fold into the chocolate mixture, being careful not to knock too much air out.
5. 5Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.
6. 6Turn oven to 180°C. Peel the pears, cut into halves and gently scoop out the core.
7. 7Place a heavy-based, ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Pan-fry the pears in butter until coloured on all sides. Drizzle honey on top and bake for 20 minutes or until tender and sticky. Set aside to cool.
8. 8For the chocolate sauce, heat the cream in a small saucepan until gently simmering. Turn off the heat, add the chocolate and leave to melt for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth.
9. 9Serve the cake with the cooled pears and a drizzle of hot chocolate sauce.