Pears are wonderful fall fruits. I like them particularly well in combination with different cheeses, and in salads. But somehow, besides using pears in savory dishes, I rarely make cakes with them. If any, I make a tart with pears, on a barely sweet base, since the fruits are quite sweet themselves, or mix them with cranberries.
So I was very happy to find a new recipe for a pear cake. It seemed even more attractive to me because of the fresh ginger that the recipe called for. I already made a fish dish which was served with pear ginger sauce and I like that combination a lot as ginger added a nice spiciness to the mild pear.
I was surprised how easy and fast the cake was, since the batter was entirely prepared in a standing mixer. When it was ready, the cake turned out very nice. Pears, plunged in a cake, were firm but delicate and the cake was nicely balanced in sweetness and spiciness thanks to ginger. So here are the details of this very easy and comforting fall dessert.
Pear ad Ginger Cake
(For a 9-inch bottom pan)
Ingredients:
3 medium soft pears, peeled off, cored and cut into a thick slices,
2 tsp freshly grated ginger,
2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature,
3 medium eggs,
1 and 2/3 cup self rising flour,
1 cup sugar,
1 tbsp brown sugar,
1 tbsp plain breadcrumbs,
1/4 cup crème fraîche or whipped cream to serve.
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease the form with a tbsp of butter taken out from two sticks. Dust with bread crumbs.
3. Cut out another tbsp of butter and save aside. Place the remaining butter and custard sugar in a bowl of standing mixer. Beat until pale and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, beating in between, then sift in flour and add grated ginger. Beat everything until smooth for about 3 minutes.
5. Transfer batter to the baking form. Place pear slices on top pushing them gently into batter. Sprinkle with brown sugar and thin slices of saved tbsp of butter.
6. Bake the cake for about 50 minutes until set and gold on top. Let it cool, remove from the pan, cut and serve with crème fraîche or whipped cream.
