Dark ginger pear cake (NZ student edition)

Caviar and codfish posted a recipe from Gourmet (October 08 edition) and the photos demanded a bookmark. I finally got around to making this (stunning) cake, which stayed dense and moist for 3 days (Will and I ate the whole thing, as Clare and Andre kept getting stuffed with food at her parents’).

I used canned pears (shhh) and ground ginger, because fresh ginger is expensive and seems to just go off whenever we get any (I’m not much of a ginger user unless it’s in baking) so I’ve devised a recipe that has a ground ginger substitute. Also, without the need for some mystery molasses that isn’t blackstrap or robust).

1 1/2 c flour
1/4 c wheatgerm (if you like texture)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp salt
113g unsalted butter
1/2 c water
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/4 c molasses (I used blackstrap)
3 large free range eggs
1 peeled and chopped pear (or equivalent canned)

Preheat oven to 170C or 350F with rack in middle. Line the bottom of a non-stick 8″ or 9″ cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon,  mixed spice, and salt. Melt butter with half the water.

Whisk brown sugar, second half of water and molasses until combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk in flour mixture until just combined. Add butter mixture, whisking until smooth.

Pour into cake pan, and scatter pear chunks over batter.

Bake until the middle springs back when you prod it, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly before attempting to take it out. Cover with a plastic bag to keep it past baking day. Tastes just as good 2-3 days later (beyond I’m not sure).

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