Sometimes a cake doesn’t need any creams, fillings or complicated decorations to be delicious, but only simple and good ingredients: cocoa powder and pears make this recipe a nice treat to start a new week. For all of you who hate Monday mornings.

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS

180 g of softened butter

180 g of caster sugar

3 medium eggs

200 g of self-raising flour

1 level teaspoon of baking powder

70 g of cocoa powder

2 medium size firm-ripe pears

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Line the base of a 20 cm (8 inch) round springform cake tin with baking parchment and grease the sides with some butter.

Using an electric whisk, in a large mixing bowl beat together the butter with the sugar, until pale a fluffy.  Gradually add the eggs, beating the mixture as you go, to avoid the mixture curdling.  Little by little sift in the flour, the baking powder and the cocoa powder, beating until thoroughly blended.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin, give a gentle shake and spread it evenly levelling the top with the back of a spoon.

Peel the skin off the pears , cut them in half and slice out the core and arrange them in a pattern on top of the cake batter, starting  around the outer edge of the pan until you finish in the middle.

Bake for 50-55 minutes until well risen, and firm to the touch. A skewer inserted into the middle of the cake will come out clean when the cake is cooked.

Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes then finish cooling on a wire rack. Allow it to cool completely and then sprinkle with some icing sugar before serving it.

TEMPTING TIPS

Perfect to start your day with a frothy cappuccino. As a dessert, serve it with a glass of Banyuls, a vin doux naturel from the region of Roussillon, in France, a sweet celebration of Grenache Noir and one of the few wines which goes really well with chocolate.