This cake might seem complicated, but don’t be fooled. It’s as easy as 1-2-3! Make this recipe for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day or any special day. The caramel and pears are a perfect match, without being overly sweet. Serve this beautiful cake with a tasty dry white wine in the evening or a strong cup of coffee in the morning.
Recipe:
You will need 2 (8″x3″) cake tins OR 2 (9″x2″) cake tins
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 360 grams (12.5 ounces) all purpose flour; sifted
- 1 TBSP baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 230 grams (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 400 grams (14 ounces) granulated sugar
- 4 large free range eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Filling:
- 3 ripe Bartlett pears; peeled and thinly sliced
- 8 oz. Clairesquares caramel
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Icing:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled
- 1 – 8 oz. package Clairesquares pie crust
Method:
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare pans; oil and flour cake tins.
- Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl; set aside.
- In a large bowl, using either a wooden spoon or a mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and continue to beat until light and smooth. Add eggs one at a time; beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl.
- On low speed, alternatively add the flour mixture and milk. Begin and end with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla.
- Divide batter evenly between cake tins and bake until cake tops are springy and golden, about 30-35 minutes.
- Cool cakes in pans on racks for 10 minutes and invert onto cooling rack and cool completely.
Filling:
- Wash and dry pears. Peel and slice in half lengthwise. Carefully cut out middle stems on each half and discard. Using a sharp knife, thinly slice pears; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt 8 oz. of Clairesquares caramel and ½ cup heavy cream on medium heat. Once caramel and cream have incorporated, add pear slices and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Icing:
- Chill bowl and whisk for at least 10 minutes in freezer before whipping cream. Place 2 cups cream in chilled bowl and beat until soft peaks form, about 3-4 minutes. Pay close attention to cream, you don’t want to over whip it.
Assembly:
- Once cakes have completely cooled, carefully split cakes in half using a serrated knife.
- Place the top half of one cake face down onto cake plate and spoon 1/3 of pear filling on top, reserve ½ caramel sauce; set aside. Repeat 3 times. Place bottom half of last cake cut side down. You want the top to be as even and flat as possible.
- Using a slanted spatula, spread whipped cream around sides and top of cake.
- Now add the shortbread pie crust crumbs. Place a small amount of shortbread crumbs in your hand and carefully press onto sides of cake. Continue until all sides are well coated.
- Add the reserved caramel sauce to top of cake. Using a spoon drizzle sauce and gently spread to edges of cake so it runs down the sides.
- Place finished cake in refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.