Sticky Pear, Date & Ginger Cake

With autumn approaching I always go for ginger based recipes and this is a favourite of mine.

Perfect on a cold day with a cup of tea or warm with some custard.

It has both ground ginger and stem ginger in it and is a really tasty sticky ginger cake.

If you keep the cake for a few days wrapped in parchment and foil the taste and texture get even better!!! If you can wait that long?

To start pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees centigrade (140 fan). Then line the bottom and grease a deep 8”round tin.

In a medium sized pan put the butter, dark brown sugar, black treacle and golden syrup.

On a medium heat stir until everything is melted and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Chop the dates and pour just enough boiling water over them to cover them. Leave to soften.

Peel and chop the pears into small chunks.

In a measuring jug put the milk and eggs and mix together with a fork.

In a large bowl put the flour, baking powder, ground ginger and chopped stem ginger.

Then add the sugar mixture and milk mixture to the flour and beat together until you have a smooth batter.

Drain the dates and add to the batter with the chopped pears, then mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and sprinkle the walnuts on the top.

Bake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Use approx 2 tablespoons of golden syrup and brush on the top of the hot cake and then leave to cool.

Sticky Pear, Date & Ginger Cake

Sarah’s servings: 8-10

Sarah’s skill: Easy

Baking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

125g Butter

60g Soft dark brown sugar

100g Golden syrup

100g Black treacle

225g Self raising flour

1 tsp Baking powder

2 tsp Ground ginger

2 Pieces stem ginger (chopped)

2 Large eggs

150ml Semi skimmed milk

100g Chopped dates

2 Dessert pears

30g Chopped walnuts

2 Tbsp Golden syrup for glazing

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees centigrade (140 fan).
Line and grease a deep 8” round tin.
In a medium sized pan put the butter, soft dark brown sugar, black treacle and golden syrup.
On a medium heat stir until everything is melted and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Chop the dates and pour just enough boiling water over them to cover them. Leave to soften.
Peel and chop the pears into small chunks.
In a measuring jug put the milk and eggs and mix together with a fork.
In a large bowl put the flour, baking powder, ground ginger and stem ginger.
Then add the sugar mixture and milk mixture to the flour and beat together until you have a smooth batter.
Drain the dates and add to the batter with the chopped pears, then mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and sprinkle with the chopped walnuts.
Bake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Take 2 Tbsp of golden syrup and brush on the top of the hot cake and then leave to cool.