Pear cake

Still working through those pears! Today's effort was a pear cake, with cinnamon & ginger. It's only just come out of the oven, so I'm waiting for it to cool a bit before trying it, but it smells wonderful (and it's made the whole house smell pretty darn good too!).


Pear cake

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
ginger (I used powdered - about 2 teaspoons)
4 cups raw diced pears (or you can use apples)

Mix all ingredients in the order listed. Pour into a greased 9"x13" pan or springform pan. Bake at 180 degrees C for 45 minutes.

Topping:
In a saucepan, mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup milk & 125g butter. Bring to a slow boil for 3 minutes. Pour over cake and return to oven for 4 minutes.

[I ran out of time to do the topping - the baking ran into dinner time - so I'll plan better next time. Probably a little healthier without the extra sugar & butter anyway!]

UPDATE: Could have done with a higher temp in my oven, or less fruit, or something. It came out VERY heavy, although it tasted great, even to someone who's not really into pears. When I cut it, it oozed in the centre, which I'm assuming is because the density doesn't allow it cook properly in the middle. Next time (and there will be a next time, because it tastes good - and would be really nice with custard), I will reduce the fruit by one-third or so, and increase the baking powder a little.

UPDATE 2: My friend The Crone suggested turning it into a pudding - slice it up, follow a bread & butter pudding recipe, add slivered almonds to the top, and bake. Yum!