Spiced Ginger Pear Upside-down Cake

Ingredients - serves 8

Pears 

50g caster sugar 

50g unsalted butter 

1 tbsp Scottish whisky 

1 tbsp ginger syrup from jar of stem ginger 

2-3 large firm but ripe pears 

Cake 

2 free range eggs 

125g unsalted butter 

125g caster sugar 

125g self raising flour 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1.5 tsp mixed spice 

3 balls stem ginger, finely diced 

Method 

To make this yummy cake, cut out a circle of greaseproof paper that is roughly 2cm larger than the base of a 20cm springform round cake tin. Grease the sides of the tin and place the paper circle in the base, pressing up the sides slightly.  

For the pears, make a caramel by melting the sugar in a small, deep saucepan over a low heat until golden brown, stirring only once most of the sugar has melted. Add the butter and stir very gently until melted. Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in the whisky and ginger syrup until the sauce is smooth.  

Leave the caramel to stand for 15–20 minutes, or until it cools enough to coat the back of a spoon, stirring occasionally.  

Place the cake tin on a baking tray in case any caramel leaks out of the cake tin and preheat the oven to 180 C/gas mark 4. While the caramel is cooling, peel the pears, cut into quarters and remove the cores. Cut each pear quarter into 3–4 long slices. Place the pear slices in the caramel and fully coat. Place the pear slices in a fan shape in the bottom of the cake tin.  

For the cake mixture place all of the ingredients in a large stand mixer and until a smooth mixture is formed. Gently spoon the mixture over the pears and smooth the surface. Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the cake is well risen, firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean.  

Take out of the oven and carefully loosen and remove the sides of the cake tin. Place a serving plate over the cake and carefully turn over. Remove the tin base and greaseproof paper. This needs to be done while the cake is warm otherwise the caramel will harden and the cake will be more difficult to remove. Slice and serve the cake warm with homemade custard for pudding or a lovely cup of tea for a tea time treat.