Recipe: Pear and Ginger Upside-down Cake
As Samhain deepens and we move further into the dark half of the year, pears reach their sweetest moment. Their soft flesh and gentle perfume pair beautifully with warming Autumn spices, making them perfect for quiet evenings indoors. This pear and ginger upside-down cake brings together fresh fruit, stem ginger and a rich spiced sponge, all finished with a glossy ginger caramel.
Ingredients
For the topping
3 small pears, peeled, cored and halved
50g dark brown sugar
40g butter
10 ml ginger syrup (from a jar of stem ginger)
For the sponge
100g butter
100g caster sugar
100g self-raising flour
2 eggs
1 tsp ground ginger
2 balls stem ginger, finely chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C Fan.
Make the caramel by melting the butter and dark brown sugar together over a low heat, then add the ginger syrup. Pour into a greased and lined 20 cm tin. Arrange the pear halves on top, cut-side down.
For the sponge, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the stem ginger and ground ginger, then fold in the eggs and flour, alternating to prevent curdling.
Spoon the mixture over the pears and smooth the surface. Bake for 50–60 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover with foil if it begins to colour too quickly.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out carefully onto a wire rack. Mind the hot syrup as you do so.
Serve warm with custard or crème fraîche on cold, late-Autumn evenings.
A Seasonal Note
Mid-November sits firmly within Samhain, the Celtic season of shadow, stillness and early Winter abundance. Pears have long been associated with nourishment and protection at this time of year. This gently spiced cake embodies Samhain’s spirit: comforting, warming and rooted in the fruits of the waning year: a sweet offering for the long nights ahead.
