Ingredients
- 10 egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon good quality bittersweet chocolate
- melted
- 1 vanilla bean
- scraped
- 1 cup black walnuts
- ground in food processor
- 10 egg whites
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons ground ladyfinger biscuits
- 1 cup blanched almonds
- ground in food processor
- 1/2 lemon
- juiced
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 4 vanilla beans
- 2 pears
- Bosc or Bartlett
- 1/2 lemon
- juiced
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup eiswein
Instructions
- Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan, and line the base with parchment paper.
- In a standing electric mixer whisk the yolks with the sugar until thick and light colored.
- Fold in chocolate, vanilla, and walnuts until just combined.
- Pour mixture into the prepared cake pan.
- Using a clean bowl again with the whisk, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, add icing sugar and continue beating until stiff.
- Gently fold in biscuits, almonds, and lemon juice.
- Pour mixture on top of walnut mixture already in cake pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 55 minutes, or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean.
- Pears: Bring sugar and water to a boil in small pan.
- Let boil for 30 seconds, lower heat to a simmer and add vanilla beans.
- Poach vanilla beans for 10 minutes, remove from syrup and let dry in oven set at a very low heat (160 degrees F) for 2 hours.
- Halve each vanilla bean, making 8 pieces.
- Peel pears, halve, and remove seeds.
- Cut pears into large cubes, sprinkle with lemon juice, thread 3 to 4 cubes onto each vanilla bean.
- Heat butter and sugar in pan until a caramel color is reached.
- Place pear skewers in caramelized butter and allow to caramelize on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove skewers from pan.
- Sabayon: Beat yolks with sugar in a medium bowl until light.
- Place bowl over simmering water and whisk in the eiswein.
- Beat until mixture triples in volume.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately with cake.
- Serve with cake and sabayon.
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