Ripe Deli's pear and espresso layer cake

Sally Greer at Beatnik Publishing

Ripe Deli has come a long way since Angela Redfern opened it in Auckland in 2002. Eleven years, new premises and two cookbooks later, the deli is a hot spot for high-quality and healthy meals, snacks and artisan groceries in Grey Lynn.

Here, the team shares an autumn-appropriate layer cake recipe, first published in Redfern's new cookbook "Ripe Recipes - A Fresh Batch" (Beatnik Publishing, 2013).

Base

75 g	Pecans, toasted
1 tsp	Baking powder
250 g	Self raising flour
225 g	Unsalted butter, softened
220 g	Caster sugar
4	Eggs
3 Tbsp	Instant coffee, dissolved in 2 Tbsp boiling water
2 Tbsp	Kahlua

Poached pears and filling

2	Pears, cored, sliced into wedges (Main)
30 g	Butter
2 Tbsp	Golden syrup
1 tsp	Instant coffee, dissolved in 2 Tbsp hot water
250 g	Mascarpone
3 Tbsp	Kahlua
75 g	Pecans, toasted

Glaze

1 Tbsp	Instant coffee
2 Tbsp	Water, boiling
150 g	Icing sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line two 23cm cake tins.
2. To prepare the pears, in a medium sized saucepan add the pears, butter, golden syrup and coffee. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil.
3. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-8 minutes or until the pears have softened, the liquid has reduced and has turned into a sticky golden caramel syrup. Set aside and allow to cool.
4. To prepare the cake, into a food processor bowl add the pecans. Pulse until finely chopped. Use half the chopped pecans for the cake mix and reserve half for the filling.
5. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the self-raising flour and baking powder.
6. Into a cake mixer bowl, place the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of the self-raising flour. Beat until well combined, scraping down the inside of the bowl after each addition.
7. Add the cooled coffee and Kahlua, mixing until well combined.
8. Fold the remaining flour and half the chopped pecans into the creamed mixture.
9. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two cake tins and arrange the pears on top of both cakes. Reserve the caramel syrup that the pears were cooked in for the cake filling. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little in the tins before turning out onto a wire rack. Cool completely before filling and icing.
10. To prepare the filling, in a small bowl place the mascarpone, Kahlua, half of the remaining pecans and the reserved caramel from the pears. Whisk well with a fork until combined. Set aside
11. To prepare the glaze, dissolve the coffee in the boiling water. Add the icing sugar and mix to form a smooth runny glaze.
12. To assemble the cake, once the cakes are cool, place one of the cakes onto a serving plate and cover with the filling mix. Place the second cake on top and lightly press the remaining pecans around the side of the cake. Pour over the glaze allowing it to drizzle down the sides.