Spiced pear-and-apricot cake

FRUIT FILLING

• 6 pears with pips removed (use a melon ball scoop)

• 12 dried apricots softened in boiling water

CAKE BASE

• 4 large eggs

• 1 cup plain yoghurt

• 160ml vegetable oil

• 80g melted butter

• 1 / 3 cup milk

• 2 ½ cups self-raising flour

• 1 cup Muscovado sugar

• ½ teaspoon salt

TIP: We used Beurré Bosc (also known as Kaiser) pears, which are particularly suited to baking.

SPICY GINGER TOPPING

• 3 large eggs

• 100g melted butter

• ¾ cup Muscovado sugar

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 3 tablespoons chopped glacé ginger

METHOD:

• Set the oven at 170° C

• Lightly butter a 26cm springform tin and line the bottom and then sides with a high collar of baking paper.

• Wash and dry but don’t peel the pears. Remove the pips with a melon ball scoop.

• Slice the bottom of each pear so that it will sit flat and not fall over.

• Stuff the hollow of each pear with two soft apricots.

FOR THE CAKE BASE:

• Whisk the eggs in a bowl and then add the yoghurt, vegetable oil, melted butter and milk.

• In another bowl, sieve together the flour, sugar and salt.

• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

• Pour the cake base into the baking tin and arrange the pears to sit upright in a circle.

• Pour on the topping beginning at the outer edges of the cake and working towards the middle.

• Bake at 170° C for approximately 1 ¼ hours or until a skewer comes out clean.

• Whisk together all the ingredients for the spicy ginger topping..