Serves 10-12

Ingredients

145 g unsalted butter (or non-dairy for vegans)

180 g dark brown muscovado sugar

160 g black treacle

120 g ginger (in syrup), finely chopped plus 2 tablespoons of the ginger syrup

½ nutmeg, grated

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon of sea salt flakes

2 pears, grated

¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda

300 g self-raising flour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC / 150ºC fan. Spray the Bundt tin with cake release, or butter well, making sure to coat all the grooves.
2. Place the butter, sugar and treacle in a large heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan containing a couple of inches of water. Place on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and stir briskly.
3. Sift the flour, spices and sea salt into a bowl and whisk (or use a fork) to combine.
4. Add the chopped ginger, syrup and grated pears to the melted butter and sugar, then fold in the dry ingredients.
5. Pour in the cake batter, then bake for 45 mins until cooked (when a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean).
6. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then invert over a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
7. Sift over icing sugar (optional).

 The cake is deliciously moist, and lasts for a couple of days in an airtight container (if you can resist)