pear and cardamom cake by jessica holmes

Spiced with cardamom and ginger, this lovely fresh pear cake is both hearty and homely. You’ll use the reverse creaming method – starting with the dry ingredients – to ensure the cake has a soft and tender crumb every time. Served with a simple maple glaze, you can enjoy this cake for morning or afternoon tea or alongside cream, ice-cream or custard for a warming dessert.

Makes one whole cake 

INGREDIENTS 

210g plain flour or all-purpose flour

150g caster sugar or granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

150g unsalted butter, softened, roughly chopped

1 large egg, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

120ml buttermilk, room temperature

175g pear, peeled and chopped into 1cm pieces

MAPLE GLAZE

40g icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted

30ml maple syrup

1/2 tsp salt

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced. Grease and line the bottom and side of a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, caster sugar, baking powder, cardamom, ginger and salt. Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the butter is broken into small pea-sized pieces and completely covered in flour. 

Add the egg and vanilla and beat briefly on low speed to combine. Don’t worry if the mixture looks dry and floury at this point.

Add the buttermilk. Beat on low speed, then increase to medium speed for 30 seconds or until the batter is creamy and smooth. It will be very thick – this is fine.

Add the chopped pear to the cake batter and gently fold using a spatula or wooden spoon.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Bake the cake for 50–55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Put the cake tin on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto the rack to cool completely.

Make the maple glaze. In a small mixing bowl, add the icing sugar and maple syrup. Stir until smooth. Stir through the salt. Drizzle the glaze all over the cake. Serve warm or cold. 

This is an edited extract from Something Sweet by Jessica Holmes, published by Plum, RRP: $44.99. Photography by Mark Roper.