Name: Pear and ginger cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 95 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 3 firm pears; 300 ml water; 100 g golden caster sugar; three slices stem ginger; 4 cloves; cinnamon stick; 250 g butter (softened); 225 g golden caster sugar; 100 g black treacle; 300 g self-raising flour; 2 tsp ground ginger; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 4 large eggs; 100 g stem ginger; 50 g icing sugar; 1 tbsp rum

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Lightly spiced poached pears top a cake flavoured with stem and ground ginger. The cake is then finished off with a drizzle of rum flavoured icing. This pear and ginger cake is also delicious served warm as a dessert.

Each week the show is on air I like to bake along to The Great British Bake Off. I made this Pear and Ginger Cake with a rum drizzle as the recipe inspired by Spice week. On this episode each contestant was asked to make a ginger cake, and as soon as I saw one of the contestants had pears on their work surface the idea for this cake sprung into my mind. Not only are pears and ginger a great combination, pears are also currently in season.

I almost ditched the idea when I saw at least one other contestant was also going for the pear and ginger combination but in the end decided to stick with it since it is such a great combination. So that just left me with the dilemma on whether to go for a rich sticky ginger cake or a lighter cake. I’ve opted for the lighter version.

I love stem ginger and this cake gets its flavour from a mixture of both ground spice and stem ginger. There is no mistake its ginger cake but the ginger is not overpowering. The pears are poached in a lightly spiced sugar syrup which is also flavoured with some fresh ginger. Personally I almost always have fresh ginger in the fridge, but you could substitute it with 1/2 tsp ground ginger instead.

To finish the cake I added a drizzle of rum flavoured icing. Again, rum and ginger seem to go very well together but, if you prefer, use a little lemon juice instead. Without the drizzle the cake is delicious served warm as a dessert with some cream or ice cream for a dessert.

5 from 5 votes

Pear and ginger cake

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 35 mins

Total Time

1 hr 55 mins

Flavoured with stem and ground ginger and topped with lightly spiced poached pears, this pear and ginger cake is completed with a rum flavoured icing drizzled over the top.

Course: Baking

Cuisine: English

Keyword: cake

Skill Level: Easy

Servings: 12

Calories: 428 kcal

Author: Jacqui Bellefontaine

Ingredients

for the spiced pears

3 firm pears
300 ml water
100 g golden caster sugar
three slices stem ginger
4 cloves
cinnamon stick

for the cake

250 g butter softened
225 g golden caster sugar
100 g black treacle
300 g self-raising flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
100 g stem ginger

for the rum drizzle

50 g icing sugar
1 tbsp rum

metric - US cups

Method

First prepare the pears, peel the and cut in half then scoop out the core with a teaspoon.
Place the water in a saucepan with the sugar, ginger, cloves and cinnamon, and heat gently stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Place the pears in the syrup. Cover and poach gently for until just tender.
Remove from the pan with a draining spoon and allow to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 170℃ (150℃ fan)/350°F/gas mark 3. Lightly grease and line the base of a 23cm (9in) springform or deep loose bottom cake tin.
Beat the butter, sugar and treacle together until fluffy. Then beat in the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
Add the stem ginger and gently fold in, then sift the flour, ginger and cinnamon into the bowl and fold in.
Bake for about [timer minutes=60]1 – 1¼ hours or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cover the top loosely with foil if it begins to get too dark on top.
Allow too cool in the tin for a few minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the rum drizzle, sift the icing sugar into a small mixing bowl, then stir in the rum to form a thin icing.
Drizzle from the spoon in a random pattern on top of the cake. Allow to set. Serve cut into slices.