Flourless chocolate cake with pear, macadamia and creme chantilly

Preheat oven to 150C (130C fan). Use 1 tbsp of soft butter to generously grease base and sides of tin. Coat base with chopped nuts.

Place sugar, vanilla and rest of butter in bowl of electric mixer and whisk on high speed for 5 mins until light and fluffy. Add eggs, almond meal, cocoa and melted chocolate and whisk until combined.

Spoon mixture into prepared tin and tap on bench to level. Evenly arrange pears cut side down and push into mixture so that it rises quarter of the way up the pears (pears will sink during cooking). Bake cake for 1 hour 45 mins – a skewer inserted into centre should come out clean when cooked. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool in tin.

Meanwhile, place cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract in bowl of electric mixer and whisk to soft peaks. Remove cake from tin and dust with icing sugar. Slice and serve with crme chantilly.