Pierre Roelofs' Pear and Treacle Cake

This dessert is always a winner. I always make it for celebrations, and it’s become tradition that there’s only ever a few crumbs left on the plate. This cake is moist, rich and satisfying, a real winner!

While we love treacle, it can at times be a little sweet, so to counter this flavour I add a dollop of homemade vanilla labneh to each serve. The labne offers a refreshing accompaniment and the the acidity helps cut through the richness of the cake. To finish off, I add a few textural elements from Pariya, a range of exotice Persian ingredients. For this recipe I use Pariya’s range of frosted pistachios and rose and pistachio rahaat.

Method

For the pear and treacle cake

Line a 30cm x 30cm tin with baking paper and preheat a fan-forced oven to 150C.

Whisk the butter, salt, sugar and spices until light and fluffy. Slowly drizzle in the eggs and treacle, then continue to whisk intensely. Fold in the flour, baking soda and buttermilk. Fold the poached pear pieces gently through the cake batter then pour into a lined baking tray.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes.

Leave to cool at room temperature before serving.

Notes: Don’t worry if you end up with leftover cake, it freezes really well. You can also always use tinned pears if you don’t have time to poach your own.

For the vanilla labneh

Mix all of the ingredients together. Hang the mixture in muslin cloth (or a paper coffee filter) and leave in the fridge for 12 hours to drain and thicken.

To assemble

Cut the pear and treacle cake into square pieces. Garnish with a dollop of vanilla labneh. Then top with the Pariya frosted pistachios and raahat.