Comments on: bittersweet chocolate and pear cake

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:45:26 +0000

Instead of putting baking powder i put baking soda !!! can you tell i’m a new foodie ? What a disappointment … I’ll give it another try sometime soon but for now i don’t have pears anymore and i’m kind of frustrated …smelled good though !

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:28:26 +0000

I live a few blocks from Al Di La. I am not ashamed to say that I have been to Al Di La several times solely to have this cake.
It is SO good. I am so so so so glad you put this recipe up! I can’t wait to make it!

By: Brenna

Brenna — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:25:20 +0000

I’ve made this cake twice now … the first time I didn’t have access to a Kitchenaid, so used a hand mixer, which was totally not up to the task and the cake was very low in the middle. I thought the trouble was insufficient volume. No biggie. Trial #2 used the Kitchenaid, got great volume, but the middle still sunk! I can’t tell by your photos if that’s the way it’s supposed to be … (Ahem, that part’s been eaten in the profile shot… : ) Or is my torta too shorta?!?

By: Ngoc

Ngoc — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:02:16 +0000

Oh my. I just made this for a barbecue on Saturday, but may have to make it again this weekend as my birthday cake.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:17:35 +0000

Just another comment on this to echo those of Sabrina … I’ve made this twice now and it really does seem that the ripeness of the pears has an impact. I made it with pears that were EXTREMELY ripe and despite the cake being done, it had gooey spots that weren’t uncooked batter. They were spots were a chunk of pears had landed and broken down into mush…still good mush, but not ideal. Also sprinkling the pears and chocolate heavier around the edges seems to help.

By: allison

allison — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:30:03 +0000

i sadly had to move from nyc, but al di la is my most favorite restaurant. THANK YOU so much! you made my day. your blog is amazing.

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:19:03 +0000

I just finished baking this but used raspberries instead of pears (since I couldn’t find a good pear). It looks like it’s suppose to be more…risen (like a souffle) but mine fell in the middle. I won’t know how it tastes until tonight. :)

By: sandra

sandra — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:21:06 +0000

this looks incredible- i also only have an 8 inch and 10 inch pan- a few people said they do not recommend the 10 inch. has anyone tried an 8 inch?

By: sabrina

sabrina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:06:41 +0000

ok, let’s all just get real: this cake is a bit finicky. i’ve made it about 5 times now, to different results every time. don’t let this dissuade you: when it works it is just about the best cake ever. some tips i’ve gleaned: first, don’t underbeat the eggs. when in doubt, keep going. the batter should take time to incorporate with the butter – it should be that thick. i’ve done it with both a hand mixer and a kitchenaid, and hand mixer is fine. second, i sprinkle slightly more pear/chocolate on the edges than in the middle so it doesn’t make a crater in the middle. third, i don’t peel my pears and it’s fine. fourth, to Susan’s question, the time it worked best i had used slightly less ripe pears… not sure if it’s a connection but an interesting point. fifth, as everyone knows, keep baking. my oven apparently sucks because i’ve had to go over an hour a bunch of times.

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:42:16 +0000

I made this cake yesterday and despite reading all the comments and baking for just shy of an hour, I ended up with a cake with a gooey middle. My tester came out clean from several test spots, but I wonder if I just kept hitting pear and didn’t ever test a spot that was pure batter. I also used the finger test and the cake was springing back to my touch. My oven temp is fairly accurate; there’s a thermometer in there and I was monitoring the temp throughout baking. My pears weren’t overly ripe, but juicy. Could that have affected the baking? I wish I’d taken a test run with this recipe before making it for company.