Pear and Ginger Crumble Cake

 

I am a sucker for cake recipes containing apples, pears, peaches, plums, figs or heck - almost any fresh fruit.  I have a pile of these kind of recipes building up in my kitchen.  Given that winter is approaching fast, it is unlikely that I will get to make them all before my sources of many types of fresh fruit dry up.  Oh well - that's the joy of the seasons.

I am a reader of Desserts magazine, an online baking magazine that comes out once a month.  In the February edition, I spied a recipe for Pear and Ginger Crumble Cake from Cinnamon, Spice & Warm Apple Pie by Ryland Peters and Small.

Conveniently, I also had two aging pears in the fridge, so this was the perfect way to ensure that those pears did not go to waste.

This cake is light and fluffy, and the fruit complements the subtle butteriness of the batter.  The crunchy crumble topping adds textural interest to the soft cake.

If you are tempted to make this cake, you will need:

115g butter
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 pears (peeled, cored and sliced lengthways into ~ 8 slices per pear)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping

1/2 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons brown sugar
50g chilled, cubed butter

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and spray a 9" springform pan with oil.

Topping

Put the flour and ginger in a small bowl, then add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips.  Add the sugar and rub it into the mixture to form a grainy, sand-like mixture. Put the topping in the fridge to chill until you are ready to use it.

Cake

Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar until pale and thick.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Add the sifted flour and baking powder to the bowl, and beat on low speed until the flour just disappears into the mixture.

Toss the sliced pears in a separate bowl with the lemon juice.

Pour the batter into the oiled springform pan and arrange the sliced pears in a nice pattern on top.  Sprinkle the chilled topping over the cake, then bake the cake in your preheated oven for ~45 minutes or until the cake is cooked through.

  

Allow the cake to cool for ~10 minutes, then release it from the springorm pan.  Serve the cake warm with icecream or whipped cream.