Poached Pears in Red Currant Sauce with Chocolate Decadence Cake - flour

Method

• Sift together flour, baking soda, sugar, and cocoa powder.
• Place into mixing bowl.
• Put butter, oil, and water into a pot and melt over medium heat.
• When butter has melted, pour into dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated.
• Then mix on medium speed while adding eggs, 1 at a time, and then sour cream.
• Continue to mix only until incorporated.
• Pour batter into greased and papered sheet pan (8 inch by 12 inch).
• Bake in a preheated 375-degree F oven until firm to touch and releases from sides of the pan.
• Cool.
• Then invert onto back of another pan or onto a pastry or cutting board.
• Take a round cutter, 1/2-inch-in-diameter larger than the base of the pear.
• Cut out cake circles.
• (Save rest of cake as snacks, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.)
• Place cream in pan, place over medium high heat.
• Bring just to a boil.
• Remove immediately from stove.
• Pour in chopped chocolate.
• Stir until all chocolate pieces are melted.
• Cool slightly.
• Place cake circles on cooling rack placed on top of a pan (to catch drippings).
• Pour glaze over cakes, being careful to fully cover top and sides.
• Place in refrigerator to harden.
• Once set, take spatula and carefully remove circles.
• Place on papered sheet pan.
• Roll out marzipan and cut it into a 3/4-inch wide strip.
• Cut a decorative design on 1 side (like waves or triangles).
• Wrap the strip, straight side on the bottom around the base of each glazed cake circle.
• Place cake circle in center of dessert plate.
• Pour reduced cool sauce around cake enough to coat plate nicely.
• Place Dipped Poached Pear in center on top of cake.
• If desired, take edible gold leaf and place in increments around cake on sauce.
• Mix together puree, liqueur, and sugar.
• Pour into saucepan.
• Set aside.
• Peel pears, core out from bottom of pear using melon baller.
• Careful not to break or split the sides of the pear.
• Slice bottom of pear, to enable pear to stand straight up.
• Place pears standing up in puree mixture.
• Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer.
• Cover with aluminum foil, poach until tender, approximately 8 to 10 minutes, depending on ripeness of pears.
• Remove pears from liquid and place on cooling rack.
• Remove poaching liquid from stove and cool.
• Once liquid is cold, place pears back into liquid and store, covered in refrigerator over night.
• Remove pears from liquid (reserve liquid for later use).
• Place on cooling rack to drain.
• Melt chocolate in bowl over a pan of simmering water.
• Once pears have drained, pat dry, and dip into the melted chocolate, approximately 1-inch up base of pear.
• Place on waxed paper to set chocolate.
• Place cooking liquid back into a saucepan, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
• Continue to simmer, reducing liquid to sauce consistency.
• Remove from stove and cool.
• This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant.
• The FN chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.