Pear Cake à La Helene

For the shortcrust, mix all the ingredients and quickly knead to a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour. Line the bottom of a 26 cm (approximately 10-inch) diameter springform pan with parchment paper. Roll out 2/3 of the dough into a round large enough to line the pan. Place dough in the pan. Roll remaining dough into 3 cm (approximately 1-inch) wide strip and place around the side of pan. Press the dough together where they meet. Prick the dough several times with a fork. Refrigerate.

For the filling, peel the pears, halve and remove the core. Simmer the pear halves in a little water until soft. Drain well and place, cut side down, on the crust. Beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, lemon juice and salt until fluffy.

Mix quark, almonds and cornstarch. Stir into the egg mixture. Beat cream until stiff and gently fold in. Spread over the pears and smooth the top. Bake in preheated 170°C (approximately 350°F) oven for 45 minutes. Cover cake with aluminum foil if browning too quickly. Cool the cake in the pan on wire rack. Remove the cake from the pan and place on a cake plate.

Chop the chocolate, place in a metal bowl with coconut oil over a hot water bath and stir until melted. Spread the sides of the cake with most of the chocolate. Drain the pears well, quarter and dip the edges in the remaining melted chocolate. Let stand until chocolate is firm.