Pear and stem ginger muffin cake

Pear and stem ginger muffin cake
  • Serves icon Serves 8-10
  • Time icon Takes 20 min to make, 35-45 min to cook

This moreish pear and ginger cake, served with a rich crème anglaise, is a great autumnal dessert or addition to afternoon tea.

Looking for something else? How about our ever-popular upside-down pear cake?

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
458kcals
Fat
30.9g (14g saturated)
Protein
8.9g
Carbohydrates
33.9g (26.6g sugars)
Fibre
1.4g
Salt
0.6g
Calories
458kcals
Fat
30.9g (14g saturated)
Protein
8.9g
Carbohydrates
33.9g (26.6g sugars)
Fibre
1.4g
Salt
0.6g

Ingredients

  • 100g semi-salted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 100g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 4 large, ripe but firm pears (around 300g prepared weight)
  • 3 large free-range eggs, beaten
  • 75g stem ginger in syrup, drained and chopped
  • 15g flaked almonds

For the crème anglaise

  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 250ml whole milk
  • 250ml whipping cream
  • 5 large free-range egg yolks
  • 50g caster sugar, plus extra to serve
  • 2 tbsp poire william eau de vie or kirsch (optional)

Method

  1. For the crème anglaise, slit open the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a sharp knife. Put the milk and cream into a non-stick pan with the vanilla pod and seeds. Bring almost to the boil, then set aside to infuse.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Grease and base-line a 23cm x 5cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
  3. To make the cake, sift the flour, baking powder and ground ginger into a large bowl. Stir in 100g sugar and the ground almonds, then make a well in the centre of the ingredients.
  4. Peel, quarter and core the pears. Cut them into roughly 1cm pieces, then put in the well in the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter, beaten eggs and stem ginger, then gently stir everything together until well combined.
  5. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin, then scatter over the flaked almonds. Bake in the centre of the oven for 35-45 minutes until firm to the touch and golden brown – a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
  6. While the cake is cooking, make the crème anglaise. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and discard (or wash and dry it, then push into a jar of caster sugar to infuse). Bring the milk and cream mixture back to the boil, then whisk into the egg yolks. Return the mixture to the pan, then cook over a low heat, stirring, until it lightly coats the back of a spoon. It should reach between 82°C and 84°C in temperature, but no higher. Remove from the heat, stir in the liqueur, if using, and keep warm.
  7. Remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle over a little more caster sugar, then leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Carefully remove, slice into wedges and serve with the crème anglaise.

delicious. tips

  1. Got some leftover stem ginger? Use it up!

    Ginger fizz cocktail
    Pour 1 tbsp syrup from a jar of stem ginger into a champagne flute. Top up with sparkling wine and a squeeze of lemon juice. Garnish with a sliver of stem ginger.

    Stem ginger cookies
    Finely chop 3-4 stem ginger balls, then stir them into a basic cookie dough before shaping.

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Share a tip

Or, how about...?

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Baking recipes

Pear and almond cake with almond crunch topping

This delicious pear and almond cake recipe is a perfect...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Proper pudding recipes

Stem ginger puddings

This dessert recipe is very similar to sticky toffee puddings,...

Subscribe to our magazine

Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.

Subscribe

Unleash your inner chef

Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter

We treat your data with care. See our privacy policy. By signing up, you are agreeing to delicious.’ terms and conditions. Unsubscribe at any time.