Nola’s Ginger Pear Date and Cake with Caramel Sauce

“Imagine what our real neighbors would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person. There have been so many stories about the lack of courtesy, the impatience of today’s world, road rage and even restaurant rage. Sometimes, all it takes is one kind word to nourish another person. Think of the ripple effect that can be created when we nourish someone. One kind empathetic word has a wonderful way of turning into many.”

Fred Rogers

I love this simple country cake. I was given the recipe by my friend Nola, and I always think of it as her cake. The ginger gives it a lovely spiciness. It can be served warm as a dessert, or cold as a moist and flavoursome cake. The caramel sauce is heavenly and is best served warm. (Beware – it is highly addictive.)

The cake will keep, refrigerated, for 4 to 5 days and freezes well too. It can also be easily reheated in a microwave or by wrapping well in foil and heating in a hot oven for ten minutes. Reheat the sauce in a small pot on the stove, or carefully in a microwave. A scoop of vanilla ice-cream makes this perfection. Enjoy!

Nola’s Ginger Pear and Date Cake with Caramel Sauce

Cake Ingredients

1 cup pitted dates

1 and ¼ cups of water

1 tspn bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 packed cup of soft brown sugar

4 tablespoons butter (60 grams)

2 large eggs

1 and ½ cups self raising flour

1 tspn ground ginger

1 tspn vanilla extract

2 pears, cored and thinly sliced (if pears are out of season where you are well drained canned pears can be substituted)

Cake Method

1. Grease the sides of a 25cm springform pan and line the base with baking paper.
2. Preheat the oven to moderate – 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Arrange the sliced pears on the bottom of the pan, making a pleasing design.
4. Put the water, dates and bicarb soda in a saucepan big enough to hold the entire cake mix. Boil the dates for five minutes and then remove from heat and mash the date mixture with a potato masher to get out any lumps.
5. Stir in the butter and mix until melted.
6. Now add the other dry ingredients and stir until combined.
7. Beat the eggs together gently and then pour into the pot and fold through to combine.
8. Spoon batter over the pears so that the pears are covered and the mixture is evenly distributed in the pan.
9. Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out cleanly with no mixture sticking to it.
10. Let the cake stand in the tin for 10 to 15 minutes and then invert it onto a serving platter. Remove the sides of the pan and then the base, and lastly peel the baking paper off the cake.

The cake can be served warm with the caramel sauce – which makes a beautiful dessert, or kept until cool and served with or without the caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce Ingredients

1 cup of soft brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup of cream

100 grams of butter

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Tip: If you like lots of sauce double these quantities!!!

Caramel Sauce Method

1. Place the sugar, butter and cream in a small pot and place over moderate heat.
2. Stir gently and often until the butter and sugar are melted – about five minutes
3. Keep warm and pour over cake as required.

Note: This sauce will thicken when cold and will not be pourable but is awesome eaten with a spoon! (I did not tell you that from previous experience 😊)

PS – Are you joining me today for our next Colour and Cuppa Webinar and chat? It’s completely free and lots of fun. Details below:

The ‘Healing – Colour and Cuppa’ gathering will be at 10.00am Brisbane time today – Saturday 30 May (which may be May 29 where you live). We hold these sessions every fortnight. To support people in other time zones we are scheduling these live events at various times throughout the year so you can find one that works for you.

You’re all welcome to join us, and so are your children. It’s a way for us to connect, heart-to-heart, as lightworkers and sensitive souls. It’s a way for me to tune you in to the energies of the weeks ahead, and to give you some tips and teachings for dealing with that, and for building both your metaphysical and self-care skills.

Each session deals with a theme, and there are lovely mindfulness colouring sheets to download too.

Our theme this week is ‘Healing’. We’ll be talking about what healing means, and how we can promote healing energies in our own lives – something especially useful in these stressful times.

We’ll also be talking about how the healing journey can be a spiritual journey too.

It’s completely free to join us, and we’ll be holding this gathering via Zoom. All of the details and the link will be in our Facebook Group, The Journeymakers.

If you’re not already a member you can join here:

www.facebook.com/groups/journeymakers/