Spiced Pear and Chestnut Olive Oil Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

This Spiced Pear and Chestnut Olive Oil Cake incorporates a few of my favorite holiday flavors, chestnuts, pears and, of course, dark chocolate. For most recipes, I like to shine a spotlight on the main ingredient, and in this case, I thought it would be the chestnuts, but as I tested and re-tested recipes, the cake seemed to take on a life of its own and at this point, I can’t decide which ingredient steals the show– the mildly sweet flavor of the chestnut flour, the warmth of the Spiced Pear liquor, or the velvety dark chocolate ganache. I suppose it doesn’t matter, the flavors are woven together so seamlessly I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.

One pleasant surprise that I discovered on this cake making journey is Spiced Pear liquor. If you haven never tried it and you love warm Autumn spices, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a bottle for the holidays. I used St. George Spiced Pear liquor which tastes like a perfectly ripe Bartlett pear infused with cinnamon and cloves. I like to substitute liquors for extracts in my dessert recipes, sometimes even cutting back on milk or water so I can add additional flavor, and from now on, this will be a staple in my bar, right alongside the Amaretto.

To begin, preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a bundt pan. Add the olive oil, whole milk, eggs, and Spiced Pear liquor to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix until well combined.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl and give them a quick mix.

Then, add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer in three batches, mixing in between each batch to make sure the ingredients are well combined.

When the batter is homogeneous, pour it into the greased bundt cake pan, filling it 3/4 of the way up the mold so it has room to rise as it cooks.

Place in the oven and allow to bake for 45-60 minutes, until the cake pulls away from the pan slightly and the top is firm to the touch.

Allow the cake to rest for 15 minutes and then remove it from the mold and allow it to cool completely.

To make the chocolate ganache, melt the chocolate and heavy cream in a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Alternately, you can heat the mixture in the microwave. I suggest heating for 30 seconds, stirring and then continue heating in 10 second intervals until the chocolate is melted.

Then, add 1 Tablespoon of butter and stir until the butter has completely melted and the ganache is smooth and velvety. When the ganache is hot, it will be runny so give it a chance to cool slightly before drizzling it over the cake.

Drizzle the ganache over the top and sprinkle with chopped, roasted chestnuts.