Nashi butterscotch cake
For the base
- 80g unsalted butter
- 120g brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 nashi pears, peeled, cored, seeded and cut into 1cm thick slices
For the cake
- 125g soft butter
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup milk
- Vanilla ice-cream, to serve
This cake makes a wonderful autumn dessert and is best eaten the day it is made. If making the cake ahead of time, the nashi can be brushed with a little warm golden syrup for extra gloss just before serving. Springform cake tins sometimes leak, so cook it in a regular cake pan for best results.
Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 24cm round cake pan and line base with baking paper.
For the base Combine butter, brown sugar and salt in a saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture into the base of the cake tin and arrange nashi on top.
For the cake Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with electric beaters until smooth. Spoon the mixture over nashi and smooth top. Bake for between 1 hour and 1 hour, 10 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a cake skewer.
Remove and rest in tin for 5 minutes then invert cake onto a serving plate and serve with vanilla ice-cream.
Serves 6-8
