Pear, ginger & hazelnut cake

This cake began as a humble ginger tea cake but, with the addition of poached pears and toasted nuts, it has morphed into a comforting upside-down cake that’s perfect for a winter pudding.

Pear, ginger & hazelnut cake Credit: Alan Benson

• serves

  10-12

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  1:20 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Stem ginger is from the root part of the ginger plant and is commonly used in cakes and biscuits to perk them up. Buy it candied in syrup from good delis and Asian grocers.

Ingredients

Poached pears

• 1 litre water
• 500 g caster sugar
• 1 cinnamon quill
• 1 fresh or dried bay leaf
• 1 lemon, strips of peel from 
• 5 poached pears

Hazelnuts

• 150 g toasted hazelnuts, skins removed

Cake batter

• 125 g unsalted butter, softened
• 100 g light brown sugar
• 50 g treacle
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 80 g sour cream
• 100 g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 pieces stem ginger, finely chopped 

To serve

• custard or ice-cream

Cooling time: 30 minutes

Instructions

1. Poached pears. Combine the water, sugar, cinnamon, bay leaf and lemon peel in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and allow the syrup to simmer while you prepare the pears.
2. Peel the pears, then cut them in half and remove the cores. Pop the pears into the syrup, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until they are tender. The poaching time can vary, depending on the ripeness of the pears you have chosen, so test by piercing one of the pears with the tip of a paring knife. You want a little resistance because they will be cooked again when they go into the cake. Allow the pears to cool in the syrup and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days before you bake the cake.
3. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a 22 cm round cake tin with buttered baking paper, dust with flour and set aside.
4. Hazelnuts. Coarsely crush the hazelnuts in a food processor or put them in a plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin. Reserve 2 tablespoons of larger crushed pieces and scatter them evenly over the base of the prepared tin. Continue to grind the remaining nuts until you have finer crumbs to put in the batter.
5. Drain the pears on paper towel or a tea towel to remove any excess liquid and arrange them, cut-side down, over the hazelnuts in the tin. The syrup can be frozen for next time you need to poach pears.
6. Cake. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and treacle on medium speed for about 3 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Give the eggs a light beat with a fork, then gradually add to the fluffy butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula every now and then if the egg is not incorporating with the butter. Add the sour cream and beat again to combine.
7. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and fold them through the butter mixture, then fold in the stem ginger and remaining ground hazelnuts to complete the batter.
8. Spread the batter over the pears and smooth the surface using a spatula or a palette knife. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 150°C and bake for a further 35–45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tin for 30 minutes, then turn it out upside-down onto a serving plate.
9. To serve. This cake is fabulous served with custard or ice-cream. It will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

 

Nadine's tips

To bake a 26 cm cake (which will serve 15-20), use the following quantities instead: for the poached pears: 1.25 litres water, 600 g caster sugar, 1 each of cinnamon quill and bay leaf, strips of peel from 1 lemon, and 7 pears; for the hazelnuts, 200 g; for the cake batter: 160 g unsalted butter, 125 g brown sugar, 75 g treacle, 3 eggs, 100 g sour cream, 125 g, flour, 1½ tsp baking powder, 1 pinch salt, 1¼ tsp each of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg, 3½ tsp ground ginger, and 3 pieces stem ginger.

Recipes from Flour and Stone by Nadine Ingram (Simon & Schuster Australia, $55, photography by Alan Benson).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stem ginger is from the root part of the ginger plant and is commonly used in cakes and biscuits to perk them up. Buy it candied in syrup from good delis and Asian grocers.