When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. We all know this. But what if, instead of your canned pumpkin, you find a can of evaporated milk in your bag? Then what do you do?
That’s the question I asked myself yesterday. See, yesterday afternoon, I went to the store to grab a few things, among which a can of pumpkin puree. I got it, but, somehow, by the time I was back at home, the canned pumpkin had transformed itself into a can of evaporated milk. How? I had no idea.

I also had really no idea what to do with it. Had it been condensed milk, it would be a no-brainer: dulce de leche. But evaporated milk?
After some reflection, I decided I would use it instead of regular milk and make a chocolate pear cake. Because of my photography workshop project which involved shooting pears (you can check it out here), I had a bunch of them and had to put them to use.

Unsure of how the evaporated milk would work, I divided the ingredients and made two different batters. The second was the win. Fluffy, chocolaty, and airy at the top. Moist and gooey at the bottom where the pears are. And the smell of chocolate all over the apartment...  It will make you hungry even if you’ve eaten already.

Ingredients

(For 4 individual ramekins)

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup sugar + 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 oz melted semisweet chocolate chips or mini-squares + (optional) a few extra chips to top
• 1 pear, peeled and either chopped or quartered (I used a Comice pear)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease ramekins with butter.
2. Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and white and brown sugar together.
3. Add the softened butter and the 1/2 cup evaporated milk and mix well.
4. Stir in the egg, vanilla extract, the left tablespoon of evaporated milk, and the melted chocolate.
5. Place a few pear cube, OR, if preferred, a pear quarter (placed upright) into the ramekin. Then spoon cake mixture over. If desired, top with a few chocolate chips.
6. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. Best way to tell: test with a toothpick 😉 It should come out clean.