Sticky Upside Down Pear Gingercake with Rum Butterscotch Sauce and Toasted Coconut

This is such an easy recipe which is ideal to make ahead. It’s also a great cheat’s sticky toffee pudding recipe and would make a delicious pudding on Christmas Day if you’re not a fan of Christmas pudding. I used pears in the base but you could also use plums, bananas or even pineapple which would work really well too. With a salted butterscotch sauce which has a touch of rum, some toasted coconut and vanilla ice cream, it’s just pure comfort food which everyone will love. It also keeps really well and the flavours of the ginger cake actually improve after a few days. This recipe was enough for my 18cm cake tin and to fill a loaf tin which I’ve kept in the freezer for emergencies so the recipe really does go a long way.

Serves 12 - 83p per portion (6 portions for 18cm cake and 6 portions for loaf cake)

1. Preheat the oven to 150C or 130C fan. Grease and line a cake tin (mine was 18cm) and a loaf tin.
2. Melt 250g unsalted butter, 250g light brown soft sugar, and 250g treacle in a large saucepan over a low heat. Make sure it does not boil, it only needs to be just melted.
3. Peel, core and slice three conference pears into nice slices. Sprinkle 2 tbsps of dark brown sugar into the base of the cake tin. Dot over 30g of unsalted butter and arrange your pear slices so they overlap.
4. Sift 375g plain flour and 2 heaped tsps of bicarb into a large bowl. Add 2 heaped tsps of ground ginger, 1 1/2 tbsps ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1 tsp mixed spice. Add a pinch of salt and stir the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted treacle, butter and sugar mixture (before you add this make sure the mixture is not hot to the touch or it will curdle the eggs). Beat the eggs into the milk and add this too. Stir well until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined - don’t overmix.
5. Pour the mixture over the pears in the cake tin then pour the rest of the mixture into the loaf tin.
6. Place in the oven to bake. The loaf cake will take slightly less (30-40 mins) and the cake will take 50 - 60 mins. Check on each cake by inserting a skewer so it comes out clean.
7. Once baked, leave in the tins to cool and make your butterscotch sauce.Put 300ml double cream, 75g butter, 50g light brown soft sugar and 50g dark brown soft sugar into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Leave to simmer for 10 mins and add 2 tbsps of rum and 1/4 tsp sea salt flakes. Taste and add more rum or salt to taste.
8. Serve the cake in slices with the sauce, some toasted desiccated coconut and ice cream of your choice.