Pear & Raspberry Mascarpone Cake

Ingredients

• 4 pears (peeled, quartered, and cored)
• 150 g unsalted butter (softened)
• 150 g sugar
• 1 packet vanilla sugar (approx. 8g)
• salt (a pinch)
• 3 eggs (medium)
• 230 g all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 200 g heavy cream
• 500 g mascarpone
• 180 g plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 250 g raspberries (pureed; fresh or thawed frozen)
• 100 g fresh raspberries (for decoration)
• edible flowers (for decoration)

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).

2. 2

   Grease two 18 cm (7-inch) springform pans and dust lightly with flour.

3. 3

   Peel and quarter the pears, then remove the cores.

4. 4

   In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt until light and fluffy.

5. 5

   Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to ensure they are fully incorporated.

6. 6

   Mix the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl, then fold them into the wet batter.

7. 7

   Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared springform pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.

8. 8

   Arrange the pear quarters closely together on top of the batter, curved side facing up, and gently press them into the batter.

9. 9

   Bake for 35–40 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown. Allow the cakes to cool completely before assembling.

10. 10

    While the cakes cool, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

11. 11

    In a separate large bowl, beat the mascarpone, yogurt, lemon juice, and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.

12. 12

    Stir in the raspberry puree until fully combined and the color is uniform.

13. 13

    Gently fold the whipped cream into the raspberry mascarpone mixture.

14. 14

    Transfer the raspberry cream to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.

15. 15

    Place one cooled cake layer on a serving plate and pipe the cream in small dots across the entire surface.

16. 16

    Place the second cake layer on top and pipe the remaining cream in dots over the top surface.

17. 17

    Finish by decorating with fresh raspberries and edible flowers. Chill the cake for at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes

Chill for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the cream to set. The raspberry puree can be made from fresh or thawed frozen berries.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• cake
• baked
• summer
• fruit cake
• raspberry
• pear
• mascarpone