Poached Pear Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 cups water
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 None vanilla bean, split
4 None small under-ripe pears, peeled
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
11 tbsp butter, melted, cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
None None vanilla ice-cream, to serve

Preparation

To poach the pears, place water, 1 1/4 cups of sugar and vanilla in medium saucepan, Stir on medium heat until sugar dissolves.
Add pears, ensuring they're covered with syrup, adding extra water as required. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, 25-30 minutes, until pears are just tender. Drain. Cool slightly and cut pears in half.
Preheat oven to 400\u00b0F. Lightly grease an 8 cup baking dish.
To make the cake, sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and ginger into a large bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup of sugar. Make well in the center, then gradually stir in melted butter and eggs to form a smooth batter.
Pour batter into the prepared dish. Arrange pears in the batter. Bake 25-30 minutes, until just set. Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream.