Sweet and velvety caramel and soft and melting pears. Yes, its official. This is indeed a marriage made in heaven.
{Original recipe from Delicious Magazine.}
Nutritional info Per serving: 708kcals, 30g fat (18.7g saturated), 4.3g protein, 106.2g carbs (83.5g sugars), 0.8g salt, 4.3g fibre
Ingredients
- 375g caster sugar
- 150g butter, softened
- 200g self-raising flour
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 4 pears, peeled, halved and cored
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/fan150°C/gas 3½. Put 200g of the sugar and 125ml water into an ovenproof 25cm sauté or frying pan. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then turn up the heat and cook without stirring until the syrup caramelizes to a golden brown, swirling the pan to even it out if necessary.
2. Meanwhile, watching the caramel, put the butter, the remaining sugar and flour into the bowl of an electric food processor, whizz for a couple of seconds, then add the eggs and stop as soon as the mix comes together. (If you don’t have a food processor, cream the butter and sugar by hand, adding the eggs one by one, then mix in the flour.)
3. Take the caramel off the heat and carefully arrange the pears cut-side down in a single layer over the caramel (this will be the top of the cake when it’s cooked).
4. Spread the cake mixture in an even layer over the pears in the pan, then bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. The centre should be firm to the touch, the edges should have shrunk a little from the sides of the pan and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake will come out clean.
5. Run a knife around the edges to make sure it hasn’t stuck anywhere. Leave it to sit for 2 minutes before turning out.
