For a showstopping holiday treat, go all out with this pear-chocolate coffee cake - San Francisco Chronicle

There are only a few times of year I venture to make a cake like this, one so massive and stately that it practically demands a crowd. It is, I think, the platonic ideal of coffee cake. There are layers of plush, fine-crumbed, buttery cake. There is a ribbon of melted chocolate in the center. There are silky slices of pears, and just enough cinnamon. And the whole giant cake (it weighs nearly 4 pounds) is crowned with a generous layer of cocoa streusel.

Despite this cake’s grandiosity (yes, it’s true, it calls for a pound of butter), it’s relatively simple to make. To ensure the batter comes together smoothly, bring your butter, eggs and sour cream to room temperature before you begin. If you’d like, the streusel and chocolate filling can be prepared ahead and refrigerated until you’re ready to make the cake (up to three or four days). In fact, the whole cake can be assembled the night before you plan to serve it, wrapped well in plastic and refrigerated, should you want to bake the cake in the morning and serve it warm from the oven (It’s worth noting that the baked cake is so rich and buttery that it keeps for many days at room temperature.)

In the winter, pears are readily available and reliably good. They ripen from the inside out, so look for pears that have slightly soft “shoulders” (the rounded area near the stem) but aren’t dotted with spots, which can indicate they’re overripe. You could, of course, experiment with other fruits. Raspberries would be great, or roasted strawberries, or bananas.

This generous cake can easily serve 16 to 20 people, making it an impressive and wildly delicious centerpiece for a holiday brunch. And if there is any left over, it has a way of disappearing, slice by slice, until all that’s left are crumbs.

Jessica Battilana is a freelance writer and the author of “Repertoire: All the Recipes You Need.” Instagram: @jbattilana Email: food@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jbattilana

Pear-Chocolate Coffee Cake With Cocoa Streusel

Makes one 10-inch cake; serves 16 to 20

You can also assemble the cake a day before you plan to bake it. Wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When you’re ready to bake the cake, unwrap it and put it straight into the oven. It will take an additional 5 to 10 minutes to bake.

Streusel

9 tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons almond flour

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

Filling

4 ounces bittersweet (72% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

For the cake

2½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup almond flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1½ cups sour cream, at room temperature

3 firm-ripe Bartlett pears, halved, cored and sliced ¼-inch thick

To make the streusel: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, almond flour, sugar, cocoa and salt. Mix on low to combine, then add the butter and continue to mix on low until craggy crumbs begin to form. The mixture may look sandy, but when you grab a small handful and squeeze, it should hold together. Set aside.

To make the filling: In a medium bowl combine the chocolate, sugar and cinnamon. With your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the mixture until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Set aside.

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Grease a 10-inch round cake or springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Sift together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and baking soda. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and salt on high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. The mixture may appear curdled; this is normal.

With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until combined. Do not overmix. Remove the mixer bowl from the stand and, with a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and the bottom to ensure the batter is evenly mixed. The batter will be thick.

Transfer half of the batter to the prepared pan and, with an offset spatula, smooth into an even layer. Top with half of the chocolate mixture, then arrange the pear slices over the chocolate, shingling them slightly and layering as needed. Top with the remaining chocolate mixture, then spoon the remaining cake batter over and spread into an even layer.

Gently squeeze handfuls of the streusel so it holds together in clumps, then scatter the clumps over the top of the cake. Some clumps will be larger, some smaller, and there will be a small amount of fine streusel sand at the bottom of the bowl; scatter it all over the top of the cake. Set the cake on a rimmed baking sheet, transfer to the oven and bake until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the internal temperature of the cake registers 180 degrees (because the cake is thick and has a layer of chocolate, the skewer test can sometimes be deceiving), about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes, then run an offset spatula around the edge of the pan (if you used a springform, release the spring). Place a large flat plate over the cake pan and carefully invert the cake onto the plate by flipping upside down. Carefully remove the parchment paper, then invert a serving plate on the bottom of the cake and turn right-side up. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. It will keep, tightly wrapped at room temperature, for 3 days, or can be wrapped in a layer of foil, then overwrapped with plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 1 month.

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