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Pear Spice Cake

Pear Spice Cake

Christina (Vine and the Olive)
A thin ginger cake topped with fresh pears and winter spiced sugar
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

Winter Spice Sugar

  • 1/4 cup sugar (50g)
  • 1/4 tsp cardamon
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Cake Base

  • 1 1/2 cups Flour (200g)
  • 1/4 cup sugar (50g)
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 2 tsp powdered ginger
  • 1/4 cup butter (57g)
  • 2 lemons, zest
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt (125g)
  • 1 egg, beaten

Topping

  • 5 pears

Instructions
 

  • Combine sugar, cardamon and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside
  • Preheat your oven to 165C / 325F
  • In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and ginger
  • Cut cold butter into dry ingredients until you get a nice crumbly mixture.
  • In a small bowl combine lemon zest, 2tsp lemon juice (place the extra juice of one lemon in a large bowl for your pears later to prevent browning), yogurt and egg before adding it to the other ingredients. This will create a very soft sticky dough
  • Line a 22cm (8.5") springform pan with parchment. I stick it to the pan with a little streak of cold butter so it isn't moving around on me and place it inside a jellyroll sheet in case of caramel, depending on how ripe and juicy your pears are.
  • Press the dough evenly along the bottom of the pan wetting your fingers with water to keep from sticking to the dough.
  • Take your sugar mix and give a light coating on top of the dough. Ensuring the majority will be left to top your pears.
  • Peel 5 pears cutting them in half and removing the core placing them in your large bowl with lemon juice to keep them looking great as you go.
  • Slice your halves lengthwise into about a half centimeter slices (or 1/4 inch) and transfer to the top of your cake with the tops facing inward and keeping them as close together as possible. Depending on the size of your pears you may have space in the middle to place one last half and any extra I chop into little bits and places wherever I see cake poking through just to ensure every bite is LOADED with fruit.
  • Dust your pears with the remaining spiced sugar and pop in your preheated oven for 1 hour.
Keyword baking spices, pear, cake, cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, lemon