So many desserts, so little time - Ginger Pear Cake

I just spent a few days cooking on one of our ships. It was intense, lots of planning, several different dietary needs, along with a strict ship schedule to adhere to. Not to mention, 40 mouths to feed. Phew! :) I wanted to make desserts but just didn't have the time. So when I came back to land, I just wanted to bake and bake and bake! This is a recipe, I had planned on trying on the ship.

Ginger Pear Cake
4 cups peeled, cored and chopped pears - I used 4 Bosc Pears
1 cups white sugar - I used  scant cup
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour, you will need a bit more if you let the mixture sit overnight -  I didn't need more but it's a good reminder
1-2 inch knob of ginger peeled and grated on a micro plane grater about 1 tablespoon - I used 1 inch next time I will use more
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice - I didn't have pumpkin pie spice so I used another teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of allspice and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
3 whole eggs
2/3 cup canola oil - I also didn't have canola oil so I used a bit less of olive oil
1 cup chopped pecans - pecans are expensive, I used walnuts

Directions

1. Combine the pears, sugar and fresh ginger and let stand for one hour or overnight

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a 10 inch bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Slightly beat the eggs and combine them with the oil, chopped pecans and pear mixture.

4. Stir the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and Pumpkin Pie Spice. Stir in the pear mixture. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan. - I didn't have a bundt pan so I used a bread loaf pan and a regular cake pan. (Note from the original cook, I let my pear mixture macerate overnight and had to add about an extra 1/2 cup of flour to the mix or it would have been very runny)

5 .Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

 

It turned out very moist, a bit like banana bread. In the future, I may want to smash the pears or cut them a bit smaller. I may also make a ginger glace or serve it with whipped cream to make it more like a traditional cake. But will be perfect to bring into the office tomorrow for some sweets to go with their morning coffee :)