Sticky Pear and Ginger Cake
Recipe from www.bbcgoodfood.com
Yield: 8 - 10 servings
Ingredients:
- CAKE
- 9 ounces dates, finely chopped
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 7 Tablespoons butter, plus extra for the pan
- 5 ounces ginger preserve (you'll find this with the jams)
- .5 ounces dark brown sugar
- 3 large ripe pears (Conference)
- 6 ounces self-raising flour
- 1.7ounces pecans, reserve 10 and chop the rest
- 1 tsp soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 2 eggs, beaten
- BRANDY SYRUP
- 85g light brown sugar
- 150ml brandy
Directions:
- Put the chopped dates in a pan with the milk, butter, ginger preserve and dark brown sugar.
- Heat until the butter has melted and the mixture starts to bubble round the edges of the pan.
- Stir well and set aside for 1 hr to cool.
- Heat oven to 320° F
- Line the base of a buttered 9" spring form pan with baking parchment.
- Peel and chop the pears into large chunks.
- Mix the flour, chopped pecans and soda with the spices, then stir into the cooled date mixture with the eggs.
- Pour into the pan and scatter over the pears.
- Roughly break the reserved pecans and drop on top.
- Bake for 40 minutes, then cover the top loosely from foil and return to the oven for 25-30 minutes more until a skewer inserted into the center comes out with just sticky crumbs - the cake may still look a little wet around the pears.
- Brandy syrup: Put the light brown sugar into a pan with1.69 ounces water and dissolve over a low heat until syrupy. Stir in the brandy and set aside.
- When the cake is ready, spoon over half the syrup, then leave the cake to cool before serving with extra syrup on the side.
- To freeze, cool the cake in its tin, then wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost and warm through in a low oven. The syrup can be frozen separately, warmed, then drizzled over as before.