This is one of those OMG cakes (the type that make you suck in your breath and say, “Oh my god”). When still warm, the edges are gorgeously crunchy and the crumb is moist. A day after baking the edges have softened a little but the crumb is even more moist! Use small pears on the point of ripening.
The cake is made using the warming method – mix, heat and stir!
Ingredients
—Gingerbread Cake 1 Tbsp lemon juice 115ml (4 fl oz) milk 60g (2 oz) butter 100g (3½ oz) standard flour Pinch of salt ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger ¼ tsp grated nutmeg 1 large (size 7) free-range egg, lightly beaten 120g (4 oz) soft brown sugar 120g (4 oz) treacle or date syrup To serve, ice cream, whipped cream or crème fraîche Topping 40g (generous 1 oz) butter 100g (generous 3 oz) soft brown sugar 3 perfectly ripe small pears, peeled, halved and cored 8 walnut halves
Method
—1 Line a 20cm (8”) diameter square cake tin with baking (parchment) paper, or a square tin that’s just big enough to fit 6 pear halves. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2 To make the topping, melt butter in a small saucepan over gentle heat, Add the brown sugar and cook, stirring, until smooth. Pour into prepared tin. Arrange pears in the tin cut side down with walnut halves between them (or tuck walnut halves in the cavities of the pear halves as you place them in the tin).
3 To make the cake, stir lemon juice into milk and set aside. Melt the butter and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Sift the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and the spices together into a bowl. Lightly beat the egg with a fork in a bowl or jug, then mix in the lemon and milk mixture, melted butter, sugar and treacle or date syrup. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid and beat together for 1 minute until smooth. Pour the batter over the pears in the tin.
4 Bake for 40-50 minutes in the preheated oven, until a good deep golden brown and slightly springy to the touch; the centre should still be a fraction wobbly. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes. Cover the tin with a large serving plate, then flip, lift off the tin, then peel off paper. Serve warmish with ice cream, whipped cream or crème fraîche.
Recipe Notes
Some days are like this – a scarcity of a common ingredient. And so it was with treacle when I wanted to make this cake. I thought I would give it a go with date syrup, and the result was just as good. The difference, though, is that the dessert ‘cake’ was now enriched with all the goodness of dates. Wow! Dates have excellent antioxidant activity – they can just about sustain life (not quite!) – and are rich in potassium, have heaps of Vitamin C when fresh and have an assortment of minerals and fibre, and they contain protein and carbohydrates. Read about dates here Dates
Date syrup is rich and sticky with way less sugar than other natural sweeteners. It’s made from dates and nothing else and saves you the faffing around soaking dates and turning them into a purée, though should you wish to make your own purée, soak dates in warm water for 30 minutes, drain and blend with a little lemon juice and fresh water to form a purée.
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- Souring milk with lemon.
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- Lay pears cavity down in caramel base.
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- Pour batter over pears.
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- Peel off baking paper.
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- Serve with creme fraiche or ice cream.
Amazing!
The most delicious dessert. Earned me mega points . Thank you Julie 😊