Pear and Ginger Cake

4 large, firm pears

125g butter

1¼ cups rich brown sugar

Ingredients for cake:

90g butter

¾ cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1¼ cups self-raising flour

2 teaspoons allspice

1/3 cup sour cream

½ cup glace ginger, drained and chopped thick cream, to serve

Before you start:

Preheat oven to190^oC.

Grease a 23cm diameter round cake pan. Line base with non-stick baking paper.

To make topping:

Peel pears, cut into quarters and remove cores.

Place butter and brown sugar into a large fry-pan and stir over a medium heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves.

Add pears and cook, turning the pears occasionally, for 3 minutes.

Remove pears.

Pour the syrup onto the base of prepared pan and arrange pears in syrup, cut side facing up.

To make cake:

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy.

Beat in eggs.

Sift flour and allspice together and fold through mixture.

Stir in sour cream, then ginger.

Carefully spoon evenly over pears and gently smooth surface.

Bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake removes clean.

Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan.

Place serving plate on top of pan.

Carefully invert, turning cake out onto plate.

Serve warm or cold with thick cream.

Source:

This recipe is re-cycled from one a friend gave me. It had apples and I substituted pears with an interesting result.