🍐🍸🤎 Chocolate, Hazelnut & Tipsy Pear Cake 🇦🇹 Austrian cuisine My beloved kittens, autumn calls for certain things. Soft lighting. Strong coffee. And a dark chocolate cake with hazelnuts and little pieces of pear that have spent some quality time in cognac. This is an old favourite I had almost lost somewhere in my own recipe archive. Finally found it, baked it… and briefly thought I had produced a small coal deposit. Turns out I’d bought black cocoa so I decided to try it out… Absolutely lovely. Deep, dark, nutty, with soft pears tucked inside. So here we are. The cake turned out to be super sophisticated yet extremely tasty. Save this one. 🥃 For a 20 cm round cake The cake: • 120 g plain flour • 80 g finely ground hazelnuts • 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder — I used 60 g black cocoa this time • 100 g softened butter • 100 g sugar • 2 eggs, at room temperature • 10 g baking powder • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 3 small pears, about 140 g each • 50 ml cognac, rum or apple schnapps The chocolate glaze: • 100 g dark chocolate, 70–80% cocoa • 40 ml milk • 40 g butter • Up to 25 ml cognac, optional Let’s bake 1. Peel and core the pears, cut into small cubes and toss with the 50 ml cognac or schnapps. Leave to soak while you prepare the batter. 2. Heat the oven to 180°C, conventional heat. Line the base of a 20 cm round tin with baking paper and grease the sides. 3. Beat the softened butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. 4. In another bowl, combine the flour, ground hazelnuts, cocoa and baking powder. Fold into the butter mixture just until combined. No marathon mixing, please. 5. Fold in the pears and their soaking liquid. The batter should be thick and spreadable. If it feels too stiff, gently add 1–2 tablespoons of room-temperature cream, a spoonful at a time. 6. Spoon into the tin, smooth the top and bake for about 40–50 minutes. Check the centre with a wooden skewer, avoiding the pears: there should be no raw batter clinging to it. 7. Let the cake rest in the tin for 15 minutes, then carefully transfer to a rack to cool. For the glaze, gently melt the chocolate with the milk over a water bath. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter until silky, then add the optional cognac a little at a time. Let it cool slightly before spreading over the cooled cake. Serve with coffee, a spoonful of softly whipped cream, and someone whose company you enjoy. And no, you don’t have to wait until five o’clock. #рецепты #recipes #ChocolateCake #PearCake #HazelnutCake #AutumnBaking #ChocolateAndPears

Starter 🔥 Slow-Roasted Baby Aubergines with Walnuts & Garlic 🍆 Small, round aubergines — those lovely little purple «bombs» — become wonderfully tender when roasted slowly, then tossed with garlic, ground walnuts and just a whisper of mayonnaise. Served chilled with fresh coriander, they make a beautiful little starter, especially with good bread to scoop up every last bite. Ingredients • 10 small, round aubergines • Salt • Olive oil, enough to lightly coat • Fresh garlic, pressed, to taste 1 tooth • 3 tablespoons ground walnuts • 1 teaspoon mayonnaise — no more! • Fresh coriander, to finish Process A quick soak. Cut the aubergines lengthways into quarters. Place in a bowl, cover with boiling water, sprinkle with salt and leave for 5 minutes. Drain well. Low and slow. Arrange on a baking tray in a single layer and roast at 120–150°C for approximately 1½ hours. The idea is to let some of the moisture evaporate gently, until the aubergines soften and shrink slightly. Bring in the garlic. Remove from the oven and gently toss with olive oil and freshly pressed garlic. Spread back onto the tray and return to the oven for another 20 minutes, until tender and fragrant. The finishing touch. Let cool, then gently mix with the ground walnuts and just one teaspoon of mayonnaise. A little is all you need to bring everything together without making the dish too rich. Taste and adjust the salt. Chill and serve. Refrigerate until chilled. Just before serving, scatter generously with fresh chopped coriander. Tender aubergines, mellow garlic, the richness of walnuts and a fresh green finish. Bring bread — you’ll want it. #рецепты #recipes