Why we love it

This flourless chocolate pear cake ticks so many boxes. The top (which starts out as the bottom in this upside down cake) is loaded with pears, while the chocolate cake beneath them is rich and chocolatey. It looks a bit fancy and is perfect for any occasion.

  • Incredibly moist and rich, yet light.
  • Loaded with chocolate flavour and soft pears.
  • The ginger poached pears are lovely and soft.
  • The whole cake is gluten-free.
  • Easier than it looks.

The flourless cakes on Sugar Salt Magic are very popular. Most notably my flourless lemon cake but also my flourless chocolate hazelnut cake. Both are wonderful and the latter was my basis for this recipe.

A chocolate pear cake, with one slice cut.

What is an upside down cake?

Simply put an upside down cake is a cake that you turn out upside down once it is baked. Most normal cakes, the base remains the base even when you turn them out but with an upside down cake, you bake it then flip it up the other way to serve. Why would you do this? Most often to show a beautiful caramelised fruit just like this.

Storing and Freezing an upside down cake

This cake can be made ahead of time and lasts well in the fridge for 3-4 days.

  • Fridge: store in the fridge in an airtight container or covered well with plastic wrap for 3-4 days.
  • Freezer: Place on a plate in the freezer until frozen. Take it out, wrap in 3 layers of plastic wrap, then freeze for 4-6 weeks.
A slice of chocolate pear cake on a dessert plate.

How to make chocolate pear cake

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

Preparing the pears:

Many pear varieties will work but Bartlett pears have a wonderful texture when baked. You can also use bosc pears or anjou pears.

Pears in baking can sometimes turn out not fully cooked through by the time a cake is baked. This is dependent on baking time and the type of pears you use but to be on the safe side, I like to poach the pears first.

This step is not only super simple and quick, but the poaching here does triple duty by not only softening the pears but also;

  • Infusing the pears with brown sugar and ginger
  • Creating a gorgeous rich syrup to pour over the cake at the end
Showing how to poach and arrange the pears.

Just place the pears, water, sugar and slices of ginger into a saucepan. Bring them to a simmer for 10 minutes and they’re done. Now just drain them on some paper towel to remove excess moisture then arrange them in the base of an 8 inch round springform tin, flat side down (so the cheek is facing up towards you which is different to the picture shown here, but works better).

Mixing the flourless cake batter

Starting the batter for the cake.

The cake batter starts fairly normally with creaming together butter and sugar. I use half granulated and half brown sugar as the brown sugar not only provides an extra level of flavour but also results in a more moist cake. Add egg yolks and melted chocolate to the mixture to get a thick chocolatey batter.

Adding almond flour to the batter.

The dry ingredients get added in the form of ground almonds (or almond meal), cocoa, baking powder and salt, plus some ground ginger to complement the pears again. The ginger is totally optional.

Adding egg whites to the batter.

Whip up some egg whites to soft peak stage and very carefully fold them through. I like to quickly mix through 1/3 of the egg whites to loosen up the thick chocolate batter, then very gently fold through the remaining egg whites until it’s all just incorporated. Spread this batter over the top of your pears and bake.

Now that thick syrup

A jar half filled with pear poaching syrup.

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

This chocolate ginger syrup is truly magical stuff. It’s thick, it’s sweet, totally addictive and perfect drizzled all over the cake.

Strain the syrup the pears were poached in, so you just have the liquid. Simmer that on the stove until it has reduced by about two thirds and you’ll have a thick, sweet syrup. I like to add a little cocoa to give it a chocolate hit and then pour this over the pear chocolate cake warm when you serve it.

You can turn this into a more decadent dessert by adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Substitutions

  • You can certainly substitute the almonds for hazelnuts here. My flourless chocolate hazelnut cake uses hazelnut meal and it works perfectly.
  • You could try swapping the pears for plums but skip the poaching step as the plums will otherwise be too soft and fall apart

This Flourless Chocolate Pear Upside Down Cake is one you can serve all your friends and family and they’ll love it. Chocolate is everyone’s friend and the pears are such a great flavour to buddy them up with. The ginger notes take this cake to the next level. It not only looks impressive but it delivers on flavour, with minimal effort too.

Slices of cake on small dessert plates.

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A chocolate cake topped with pears on a cake plate.
4.9 from 15 ratings
This gorgeous and moist flourless chocolate pear cake is not only surprisingly easy to make, but it’s also gluten-free. Every slice has some rich yet light flourless chocolate sponge and soft poached pears.

Ingredients

FOR THE PEARS

  • 3 pears
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar (100g/3.5oz)
  • 2 cups water (just enough to cover the pears) (500ml)
  • 3 slices fresh ginger, from a thumb size piece

FOR THE CAKE

  • ½ cup  white granulated sugar (100g / 3.5oz)
  • ½ cup  dark brown sugar (100g / 3.5oz)
  • 226  unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks / 1 cup / 8oz)
  • large eggs, separated, room temperature
  • teaspoon  vanilla extract
  • 50  dark chocolate (70%), melted (¼ cup / 1.8oz)
  • 240  almond meal (ground almonds/almond flour) (8.5oz)
  • ½ cup  unsweetened cocoa (plus extra for dusting)
  • 3 teaspoons ground ginger (optional)
  • teaspoon  baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • icing sugar (powdered sugar), for dusting

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GINGER SAUCE

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • TO PREP THE PEARS:
    Peel and halve the pears. Carefully cut out the core.
  • Place the water, sugar and ginger in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the pears and poach for 10 minutes. Remove the pears, but retain the syrup for later. Drain the pears on paper towel while you prepare the cake.
  • FOR THE CAKE:
    Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F. Grease and line an 8 inch round springform pan with baking paper.
  • Wet ingredients: In a large bowl with electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, then add the vanilla and the yolks, one at time until fully combined and the mixture looks fluffy.
  • Add the melted chocolate and mix through.
  • Dry ingredients: Mix the almond meal, cocoa, ground ginger, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl. With the beater on low, slowly pour it into the wet ingredients until combined.
  • In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peak stage. Add ⅓ of the egg whites to the batter and mix through. Add the last ⅔ in 2 parts but just fold through in gentle, measured folds until all combined. Keep the mixing to a minimum to keep as much air in the mix as possible.
  • Arrange the pears in the bottom of the cake tin, flat side down. Pour over and gently level out the chocolate cake batter.
  • Bake in your preheated oven for 50 – 55 minutes until the top looks dry and a toothpick comes out with just a moist crumb or two.
  • Allow to cool for half an hour before removing the springform tin. Flip up the right way onto a wire rack so the pears are on top and allow to cool completely.
  • FOR THE CHOCOLATE GINGER SAUCE:
    Return the leftover syrup to a saucepan over low heat. Bring it to a simmer and let it bubble away, swirling the pan every so often, until it has reduced by at least two thirds. It should be thick and syrupy and there should be around ¼ cup of it.
  • Add the cocoa and stir over the heat for 30 seconds longer then transfer to a pouring jug.
  • Dust the cake with icing sugar, then serve up with the syrup on the side.
  • Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.

Notes

  1. For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
MORE CAKE RECIPES!
Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.
Nutrition Facts
Flourless Chocolate Pear Cake
Amount Per Serving (176 g)
Calories 459 Calories from Fat 270
% Daily Value*
Fat 30g46%
Saturated Fat 13g81%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 103mg34%
Sodium 86mg4%
Potassium 336mg10%
Carbohydrates 48g16%
Fiber 8g33%
Sugar 35g39%
Protein 9g18%
Vitamin A 574IU11%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 111mg11%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.