Name: Salted caramel pear cake
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: Serves 12-14
Ingredients: 350g butter softened, plus extra for the tins; 350g golden caster sugar; 6 eggs; 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract; 350g self-raising flour; 150g pecans roughly chopped, plus extra to serve; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 2 tsp ground ginger; a grating nutmeg; 4 small dessert pears peeled, halved and cored; 50g caster sugar; 200ml perry or cider; 1⁄2 cinnamon stick; 4 whole cloves; 1 bay leaf; 100g salted butter cut into cubes; 100ml double cream; 100ml maple syrup; 1⁄2 tsp sea salt flakes; 500g mascarpone; 300g double cream; 4 tbsp icing sugar; 2 tsp vanilla bean paste

A four tier sponge cake filled with cream and topped with slices of pear

SPONGES

350g butter
softened, plus extra for the tins
350g golden caster sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
350g self-raising flour
150g pecans
roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
a grating nutmeg

POACHED PEARS

4 small dessert pears
peeled, halved and cored
50g caster sugar
200ml perry or cider
1⁄2 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf

MAPLE CARAMEL

100g salted butter
cut into cubes
100ml double cream
100ml maple syrup
1⁄2 tsp sea salt flakes

MASCARPONE CREAM

500g mascarpone
300g double cream
4 tbsp icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Method

step 1
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with baking paper. Beat together half (175g) the butter and half the sugar with an electric whisk until pale, then add 3 of the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. Mix in half of the vanilla, flour and spices, along with a small pinch of salt. Fold in half the nuts and divide the batter between the tins, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Clean the tins and repeat this step with the remaining sponge ingredients to make a total of four sponges.
step 2
Put the pears and all of the remaining poached pear ingredients in a small pan and top up with water to cover the pears if needed. Bring to a simmer over a low-medium heat, then cover and cook gently for 20-25 minutes or until the pears can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove the pears using a slotted spoon to a plate lined with kitchen paper and leave to drain. Continue simmering the liquid, uncovered, until reduced by a third – it should be a light syrup. Leave to cool, then remove and discard the whole spices.
step 3
For the caramel, put all the ingredients in a small pan. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until thick and golden – it will thicken further as it cools. Cool completely and chill if it needs to thicken more.
step 4
For the mascarpone cream, whisk together the mascarpone, double cream, icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks using an electric whisk – do this carefully, as the mixture will reach the soft peak stage quite quickly.
step 5
Set three of the pear halves aside and slice the rest. Brush each sponge with a little of the poaching syrup. Put one sponge on a cake stand or plate, spread with a third of the mascarpone cream (leaving a small gap at the edge to allow for spreading) and top with a few slices of pear and 1 tbsp of the caramel. Repeat twice, then top the cake with the remaining sponge, and drizzle with the remaining caramel so it drips down the sides. Top with more pecans and the reserved pears.