Rich Chocolate Cake
[Vegan]

For the Gingered Pear:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Slice pears vertically into 4 thick slices (8 between the 2 pears).
3. Lay them flat on lightly oiled baking sheet.
4. Top them with coconut oil, grated ginger and coconut sugar.
5. Bake them for 10 minutes (this is just to get them started). Remove them and set aside.

For the Cake:

1. Turn oven down to 350°F and line a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Make a 'flax egg' by mixing 1 tablespoon flax meal with 3 Tbsp. water.
3. Make 'buttermilk' by squeezing lemon wedge into 1 cup coconut milk and let sit for 10 min.
4. In a large bowl, use a silicon spatula and mash the coconut oil until smooth. Add the sugar and mix until smooth.
5. Add the flax egg and mix even more, then add the coconut buttermilk and vanilla. The batter will look a bit uneven and will separate, that’s normal.
6. Sift the flour, cacao, toasted carob, baking soda, baking powder and salt together into the wet ingredients. Stir well with a metal spoon, but don't over mix.
7. Scrape the side of the bowl, making sure that all the ingredients are well blended. Then pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with 8 pears, laying them two by two, they will overlap slightly.
8. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes.
9. Cool in pan on a rack for about 15 min, at which point you can remove cake from pan and slice.