Pear, ginger & honey cake

Ingredients

• 6 William Bartlett pears, peeled
• 2/3 cup (160ml) Honey
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 180g butter
• 2/3 cup (150g) brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup (125ml) milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1/3 cup (45g) blanched hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp Honey, extra
• Icing sugar, to serve
• Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Directions

1. Use a small paring knife or apple corer to core the pears. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Add 1/3 cup (80ml) honey and half the cinnamon and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 6-8 mins or until the pears are just tender. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a medium baking dish. Combine the butter, sugar and remaining honey in a clean medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 mins or until butter melts and mixture is smooth.
3. Sift the flour, salt, ginger and remaining cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir to combine and make a well in the centre. Whisk the milk and eggs in a small jug until well combined. Add to the flour mixture with the butter mixture and gently fold until just combined (don’t overmix).
4. Pour half the batter into the baking dish. Arrange the pears over the batter. Pour the remaining batter around the pears. Bake for 45 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
5. Place the hazelnut in a small frying pan over medium heat. Cook, tossing occasionally, for 2 mins or until golden. Drizzle with the extra honey and stir to coat. Top the cake with the hazelnut mixture and dust with icing sugar. Serve warm with ice cream.