I’m not sure what category this number falls into. I reckon it’s probably on the cake with tea spectrum. It is not the prettiest of bakes but has a pleasingly moist texture and despite the substantial use of ginger the flavour remains quite subtle.

As chance would have it, my sister made a separate ginger offering for the same dinner and she served hers with a ginger cream. That ginger cream was delicious with my pear cake. I think it was just cream with stem ginger syrup mixed in. No doubt, being such a shrinking violet, she will let me know in the comment section if I’m wrong. Incidentally, at that dinner, I was a little slow off the mark and forgot to take any decent photos of the cake before it was set upon, hence the sorry looking slice below.

Anyway, the initial stages of this cake are on the fiddly side but there’s nothing complicated at all in the actual making. If you don’t have the right Bacardi then either leave it out or add in some other liqueur of your liking.

Oven temperature 170 Celsius

Ripe pears                     450g

Lemon                            zest and juice of 1/2

Bacardi ‘Oakheart’       2 capfuls

Stem ginger syrup       2 teaspoons

Stem ginger                   1 lump

Butter (melted)            50g

Plain flour                      100g

Baking powder             1 teaspoon

Muscavado sugar         75g

Ground ginger               1/2 teaspoon

Pinch o’ salt

Eggs                                2

Glaze;

Apricot jam                    2 tablespoons

Stem ginger syrup         1 teaspoon

Preheat the oven and line a 21cm round cake tin with baking parchment. Then take your pears, lemon and ginger over to a table and sit down on a comfortable chair whilst you prepare everything.

Peel and finely dice the pears, place them in a bowl. Zest the lemon into the same bowl and then squeeze in the juice. Pour in the ginger syrup. Very finely dice the lump of ginger and add that in too. Finally add in the Bacardi and stir it all together.

I know that all sounds easy, and it is, but it does take a little time.

Melt the butter.

Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, ground ginger and salt into a bowl. Give it a quick stir before adding in the butter and egg. Once that’s nicely combined pour in the bowl of pear goodness.

Mix it all together and pour into the tin. Marvelously straightforward.

Bake it for about 50mins until it is golden brown and firmish to the touch. Take it out of the oven and let it cool down in the tin while you make the glaze.

Heat the jam in the microwave for about 30seconds til it’s good and runny then stir in the syrup.

Untin your cake and place it on a wire wrack and then, using a pastry brush, paint over the glaze.

Put on the kettle. Make some tea and have a slice.