Sticky pear cake

Make the most of the seasonal pears available this autumn. This wonderful, warming cake recipe makes a fabulous autumn pudding or an indulgent, sticky cake for afternoon tea.

Ingredients

• 250g stoned dates – finely chopped
• 300ml milk
• 100g butter, plus a little extra to grease the tin
• 140g ginger preserve
• 140g dark muscovado sugar
• 3 large ripe pears – peeled and chopped into large chunks
• 175g self-raising flour
• 50g pecan nuts; keep a handful whole and chop the rest
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon mixed spice
• 2 eggs beaten

Method

1. Put the chopped dates in a pan with the milk, butter, ginger preserve and dark muscovado sugar.
2. Heat gently until the butter has melted and the mixture starts to bubble around the edges of the pan. Stir well and set aside for an hour to cool.
3. Heat the oven to 180C/350F Gas Mark 4 (fan oven 160C/320F). Line the base of a buttered 10-inch (23cm) cake tin with baking parchment.
4. Mix the flour, chopped pecans and bicarb with the spices, and then stir into the cooled date mixture with the eggs.
5. Pour into the tin and scatter over the pears. Roughly break the reserved pecans and drop on top.
6. Bake for 40 minutes and then cover loosely with foil. Return to the oven for 25-30 mins more until cooked. It may look a little wet around the pears. Use a skewer to check.
7. Remove the cooked cake onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.