Upside down pear pudding

Preparation: 30 minutes

Cooking: 1 hour

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 pears, peeled, halved and cored
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons soft brown sugar
  • 175g soft unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
  • 3 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 100g ground almonds

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Line a 23 cm cake tin with nonstick baking paper.
  3. Put the caster sugar and water into a saucepan and gently cook until the sugar dissolves.
  4. Add the pear halves to the pan.
  5. Gently cook the pears for 10 minutes or until tender.
  6. Remove from the syrup using a slotted spoon and cool.
  7. Discard the syrup.
  8. Sprinkle a prepared cake tin with brown sugar.
  9. Arrange pears cut side down over the sugar.
  10. In a large bowl cream the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy.
  11. Add the eggs one at a time, along with 1 tablespoon of flour, beating well between each addition.
  12. Fold through the remaining flour, baking powder, cinnamon and almonds.
  13. Spoon batter over the pears and smooth the surface.
  14. Bake in the oven for 50 – 55 minutes or until skewer inserted into the pudding comes out clean.
  15. Remove from the oven and carefully turn out onto a serving plate.
  16. Cut into slices and serve with vanilla custard.