Caramelized Pear Gingerbread
AUTUMN 2005
BY MARILYN BENTZ CROWLEY
Classic soda gingerbread is topped with pears while caramel sauce enticingly drizzles down the sides. It is very rich in an English pudding-like manner-perfect fare as the days get shorter and pears are at peak ripeness.
Topping
3 tbsp (45 mL) unsalted butter
½ cup (125 mL) lightly packed brown sugar
2 ripe medium-size pears, soft but not mushy
Cake
½ cup (125 mL) molasses
½ cup (125 mL) milk
1 egg
1 tbsp (15 mL) finely grated fresh ginger
2¼ cups (550 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
¼ cup (50 mL) butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. To make topping, put butter in a 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pan and place in preheated oven for 3 to 4 minutes or until butter is melted. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Peel pears, core and thinly slice into wedges. Arrange decoratively over brown sugar, overlapping as needed.
3. To make cake, whisk molasses with milk, egg and ginger until blended. Mix flour with sugar, soda and salt; add molasses mixture and melted butter. Stir until almost smooth (batter will be thick). Spread over pears. Level top.
4. Immediately bake in centre of preheated oven for 45 minutes or until edges of cake pull away from sides and a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven; run a knife around cake edge.
5. Place a large plate with sides over cake top. Together turn upside down; cake will fall onto the plate. Replace any pears that stick to pan; run a rubber spatula around bottom to get last of caramel sauce onto cake. Serve warm with crème anglais or lightly whipped cream.
Makes 8 servings
AUTUMN 2005
BY MARILYN BENTZ CROWLEY
Classic soda gingerbread is topped with pears while caramel sauce enticingly drizzles down the sides. It is very rich in an English pudding-like manner-perfect fare as the days get shorter and pears are at peak ripeness.
Topping
3 tbsp (45 mL) unsalted butter
½ cup (125 mL) lightly packed brown sugar
2 ripe medium-size pears, soft but not mushy
Cake
½ cup (125 mL) molasses
½ cup (125 mL) milk
1 egg
1 tbsp (15 mL) finely grated fresh ginger
2¼ cups (550 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
¼ cup (50 mL) butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. To make topping, put butter in a 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pan and place in preheated oven for 3 to 4 minutes or until butter is melted. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Peel pears, core and thinly slice into wedges. Arrange decoratively over brown sugar, overlapping as needed.
3. To make cake, whisk molasses with milk, egg and ginger until blended. Mix flour with sugar, soda and salt; add molasses mixture and melted butter. Stir until almost smooth (batter will be thick). Spread over pears. Level top.
4. Immediately bake in centre of preheated oven for 45 minutes or until edges of cake pull away from sides and a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven; run a knife around cake edge.
5. Place a large plate with sides over cake top. Together turn upside down; cake will fall onto the plate. Replace any pears that stick to pan; run a rubber spatula around bottom to get last of caramel sauce onto cake. Serve warm with crème anglais or lightly whipped cream.
Makes 8 servings