A few days ago my dad brought the most juicy pears home. They were small and so full of flavour that after downing as many as I could fresh, I decided to make a pear cake I’d been meaning to try ever since I saw the recipe in a cute little Marks and Spencer baking book my cousin gifted to me.
What intrigued me was the addition of ginger to complement the pear. A simple cake batter flavoured with a hint of dried ginger (though next time I’m going to try fresh or a combination of the two) and topped with sliced pears and a generous sprinkling of walnuts. SUPER YUM!
You know what’s the worst part of blogging about this cake? That I cannot eat it as I type, like all the other things I make.
Pear and Ginger Cake with Walnuts
Yield: 1 8/9inch cake that serves 8-10 people
Adapted from Easy Baking, Marks and Spencers
200g / 7 oz butter
200g / 7 oz sugar
200g / 7 oz all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
3 eggs
450g / 1 lb pears – peeled, cored and sliced
1 tbsp raw sugar or granulated sugar (for sprinkling)
50g / 2 oz walnuts, chopped
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and grease a 8 (preferably) or 9 inch round tin and line it with parchment paper.
- In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and ground ginger.
- In another bowl, beat the sugar and 175g/6oz butter together. Add the eggs, one at a time.
- Reduce the mixer speed and add the flour mixture or fold it in by hand.
- Spoon this mixture into a prepared tin and arrange the pear slices on top of the cake. Sprinkle with the 1 tbsp of sugar, dot with the remaining butter and scatter the walnuts on the pears.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Let it cool slightly before cutting yourself a slice.