I spotted the first cherry blossoms today and the weather felt warmer than usual. It’s coming! Spring is coming. I felt like doing a happy dance. Meanwhile it occurred to me that I have this huge list of winter recipes to share and winter will be gone in a wink. This winter I tested out recipes to my heart’s content. It is such a delight when the outcome is delicious. My messy kitchen seems so worth it! I have a soft spot for ginger cakes. In fact my very first post was a ginger cupcake recipe that I make over and over again. It’s nice to have tried and tested recipes at hand but I also like to experiment with varieties of the same cakes or desserts in pursuit of perfection.
I can remember at least 10 times being asked for substitutes for treacle and molasses that are so classic to ginger and gingerbread cakes. Honestly, they are hard to substitute as the sticky, deep, rich flavour is what brings out the spicy taste of ginger. However, if you must make a great ginger cake without the syrups, this is it. It has a strong taste of ginger whilst being moist and light. I find that powdered ginger is quite subtle whereas freshly grated ginger is too overpowering. Bits of raw ginger in the mouth is not the most pleasant thing to taste. Crystallised ginger or glace ginger is the solution for me. It is intense, sweet and kind of gets lost in the batter. To compensate for the absence of molasses, I’ve topped the cake with salted caramel poached pears. It is a match made in heaven is all I can say. Crunchy chocolate coated honeycomb completes the balance.
With or without the poached pears, the cake is must make when all you do is throw a handful of ingredients together. It’s a three line recipe only which is what I love.
Ginger Cake
Makes a 6 inch round cake that serves 6-8 people.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C for fan-forced ovens). Grease and line the base a round 6 inch (base measurement) cake pan with non-stick baking paper.
Combine the flour, brown sugar, powdered ginger, glace ginger and powdered cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk in butter, egg and milk. Pour into pan.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool before turning onto a serving plate. Serve with salted caramel poached pears (recipe below) and honeycomb.
Salted Caramel Poached Pears
4-5 cups of water
1/2 cup light brown sugar
6 firm, ripe pears, peeled and bottoms sliced off to make them stand
1 tbsp lemon juice
For the caramel sauce
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
a pinch of sea salt
To poach the pears: In a large pot, combine the water and sugar over medium-high heat. Add the lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Submerge pears in the simmering liquid, adding more water, if necessary, to just cover the pears. Cut a piece of parchment paper into a circle just large enough to cover the pot. Ease the paper down into the pot until it is touching the surface of the liquid. Simmer the pears until a knife inserted directly into a pear meets little resistance, about 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and cool the pears completely in the poaching liquid.
To make the sauce: In a saucepan, over high heat, combine the brown sugar and water and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the sauce is reduced, thicker and takes on a dark golden brown color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully stir in cream, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add salt.
To assemble/serve : Just before serving top the cooled cake with the pears and drizzle generously with salted caramel sauce. Add the crushed chocolate coated honeycomb (if using).
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