Port Poached Pear Chocolate Cake & Blue Cheese

👩‍🍳— Jump to recipe, but fair warning: you’ll miss all my brilliantly unnecessary (and deeply entertaining) ranting.

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Every year during the Christmas season, I embark on a culinary adventure, exploring new recipes while also revisiting old favourites. One of our cherished holiday treats is the rich and decadent Port Poached Pear Chocolate Cake with Blue Cheese. While this combination may sound unusual to some, believe me, it’s a match made in holiday heaven. Not only is it easy to make, but it’s also incredibly impressive!

The recipe has now been passed down to my daughters, who just packed their bags and fled to Montreal for university. For Thanksgiving, they concocted a student-budget-friendly version using the cheapest wine they could find. Let's just say it was a “grape” success!

The Cake

First, let’s discuss the cake, which serves as the rich chocolate foundation. It features a decadent, almost flourless chocolate base that is simply irresistible.

I’ve made this recipe more than any other dessert, and it’s fabulous on its own or paired with a dollop of jam or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This recipe holds a special place in my heart because it was given to me by a dear friend, Lisa, who left us too soon. During her travels in France, she stayed at a bed-and-breakfast in Lyon, where the host shared this recipe with her. Lisa wrote it down for me on a purple sticky note, a keepsake that has survived 25 years in my recipe book. I cherish this note not only for the recipe itself but also for the memories it brings back of our friendship.

Fortifies Wine Poached Pears

The poached pears, reminiscent of elegant figures with inviting curves, as if they've just been gently embraced by a rich wine bath that elevates their natural sweetness.

To achieve the perfect texture, it's key to select ripe pears ensuring they retain their lovely shape while cooking. Bosc and Anjou are fantastic choices.

Now, let’s talk about the wine.

A fortified dessert wine has a higher alcohol content than your average vino because it got a little help from its friend, brandy. The fortification process involves adding this distilled grape spirit to the fermenting wine, killing the yeast, leaving behind residual sugar and resulting in a sweeter and more potent, absolutely delicious final product.

The most widely available fortified sweet wine is Port, from Porto, Portugal. Thats a lot of "port" in one phrase, but trust me every sip is worth every penny you have in your porte-monnaie (pardon my French!).

The Ruby Port is typically the most affordable variety, though you can use Tawny port instead if you'd like.

In addition to Port, there are several other delightful sweet red fortified wines to explore. These include Madeira from Portugal and various Vin Doux Naturel options from Roussillon, such as Banyul, Maury, and Rivesaltes, as well as Rasteau from the Rhône region of France. Additionally, there's Rubino Marsala from Sicily, Italy. Each of these wines has its own unique flavour profile and production methods.

Port is the easiest to find in Canada and is likely the most budget-friendly option.

If you haven't tried  fortified wines yet, I don't know what you're waiting for!

The Blue Cheese

Roquefort Société

The real twist comes from incorporating blue cheese, which adds a tangy richness that elevates the entire dessert. I particularly enjoy French Roquefort among the various blue cheeses. It stands out because it is made from unpasteurized sheep’s milk and aged in natural limestone caves in Occitania, southern France. Other blue cheeses, made from cow'smilk, can serve as suitable substitutes.

The famous French philosopher Diderot declared Roquefort as the “King of Cheeses” in his work, L'Encyclopédie, during the Age of Enlightenment. While other intellectuals engaged in exploring the secrets of existence, knowledge, and the meaning of life, Diderot was busy championing sheep’s milk cheese! Après tout, who needs to unravel the mysteries of the universe when you can have a cheesy debate about the supremacy of Roquefort?

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Port Poached Pear Chocolate Cake with Blue Cheese

Servings: 4 | Preparation: 30 minutes | Cooking: 1 hour

Course: Dessert

Ingredients

For the Poached Pears:

- 4 ripe pears

- 3 cup / 750 ml port wine*

- 1/4 cup / 50 grams sugar

*A standard bottle of Port is 750 ml. You can use slightly less in the recipe, allowing you to enjoy some of the leftover with dessert.

If you are poaching the pears in "regular" dry red wine instead, you'll need to add more sugar to the syrup to achieve a balanced flavour. You don't have to spend a lot on the most expensive bottle; instead, choose a strong, fruity, and affordable dry red wine if you’re on a budget. Some great options to consider include Malbec, Shiraz/Syrah, Grenache, Merlot, Gamay, or Zinfandel, or even blends of these varieties.

Optional, but great:

- a couple of large pieces of orange peel

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 2-3 whole cloves

- 1 star anise

For the Chocolate Cake:

(I have changed Lisa's original recipe, using one standard 100g/3.5 oz chocolate bar and adjusted the other ingredients accordingly.

- 100 grams / 3.5 oz of dark chocolate (70% and up), a whole bar

- 100 grams / 1/2 cup sugar

- 100 grams /  / 1/2 cup of butter

- 3 whole eggs

- 3 tbsp white flour (or almond flour)

- 1/8 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (optional)

- 1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)

- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)

For theTopping:

100 grams / 3.5 oz Roquefort cheese or another type of blue cheese

A handful chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional).

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line it with parchment paper rounds. Grease the parchment paper as well; this ensures that the cakes release easily from the pans. Set aside.

PEARS:

Begin by peeling the pears, taking care to leave the stems intact. Cut a small bit off the bottom so the pears can stand in the pan without tipping over. I don't usually remove the seeds, but you can by using a melon baller to gently scoop out a small hole from the bottom of each one.

Place the pears in a saucepan with the spices and sugar, ensuring they fit snugly. Pour in the port and water, then bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cover the saucepan. Let the pears poach for 45 minutes. Grab a fork and gently poke a pear to check for that perfect softness. They should feel tender yet firm enough to maintain their lovely shape. Once done, remove the pears from the poaching liquid and set them on a plate to cool down.

Once the fruit and larger spices are removed, gently on low heat let the wine simmer until it reduces by half - about 15-20 minutes. You'll be rewarded with a delightful, thick port wine syrup.

CAKE:

Meanwhile, set another metal bowl over a pot of simmering water to create a double boiler. Melt the chocolate in the bowl. (You can also make this step in the microwave.)

In a stand mixer bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture turns a pale yellow color and becomes light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed until fully combined. Once the chocolate has melted, gradually mix it into the butter, sugar, and egg mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, salt, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, and baking powder. Gradually add this mixture to the wet ingredients, one spoonful at a time, while mixing on low speed.

Pour the batter into a greased 8-inch springform pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. The cake may appear slightly underdone when you take it out, which is perfectly fine.

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing it. Then, transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.

ASSEMBLY:

Once the cake has cooled, use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out four rounds. Place each round on its own dessert plate. Top each piece with a tablespoon of blue cheese, followed by a poached pear. Drizzle port wine glaze over the pears. For a finishing touch, sprinkle additional blue cheese and some chopped toasted walnuts or pecans on top.

Happy sipping and savouring!