Pear and ginger upside down pudding

I have been cooking this cake/pudding for years and everyone loves it.  It was a recipe I discovered in an old Vogue Wine & Food cookbook in the 80’s and is always delicious.  Moist, spicy and served warm it is the perfect end to a casual lunch or dinner.  It is worth the little extra effort to warm it before serving.

Be careful that the pears need to be ripe and not too large as the batter will not cover them.  There isn’t actually a large quantity of batter so be mindful of this.  You could slice the pears and arrange decoratively over the base of the pan if necessary.

Ingredients: Topping

60g butter
100g soft brown sugar
4 small-medium ripe pears, peeled cored and cut in half lengthwise
Pecans or walnut halves

Gingerbread:

125g Plain flour, sifted
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarb-soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)
1 tsp ground ginger
small pinch ground cloves
125g soft brown sugar
1 egg beaten
½ cup milk
60g melted butter
90g Golden Syrup

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C Fan Forced.  Line a 22cm tin with baking paper.
2. To make the topping:  Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Be careful that it doesn’t burn.  I have just melted the butter in the base of the pan while the oven is preheating but the sugar didn’t melt and the result was not as good.
3. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and arrange pears upside down, core side down and place a nut in each core place.  If you have anymore space scatter a few extra nuts around or between the pears
4. To make the gingerbread:  Sift together all the dry ingredients
5. Combine the egg, sugar, golden syrup, milk and cooled butter
6. Stir into the flour mixture
7. Beat well for 1 minute until smooth and pour over pears.
8. Bake in pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes
9. Allow to cool slightly before turning out onto a large plate.

Serve with cream 🙂