In combination this is a wonderful dessert, but there is nothing stopping you slicing a piece of ginger loaf for afternoon tea or pouring the butterscotch sauce over good old vanilla ice cream.
125g butter
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, then fold in the dry ingredients. Bake in a greased 24 x 13 cm loaf tin for 20–30 minutes at 180°C.
Ginger Poached Pears
2–4 pears
8–10 cm piece of fresh ginger
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
Peel, halve and core the pears. Roughly chop the ginger and place in a saucepan along with the pears, sugar and water. Cover with a cartouche, which is a fancy name for a lid made from baking paper. No need to go to too much trouble here, simply tear off a piece of baking paper, scrunch it into a ball then unfold enough to fit inside the pot. This will keep the pears from popping up above the water and keep some of the steam in.
Simmer the pears until tender. This will take between 10–20 minutes depending on your pears and how firm they were to begin with.
Allow the pears to cool in the syrup.
Butterscotch Sauce
50g butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup cream
Place all three ingredients in a saucepan. Heat and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring until it becomes a thick, caramel sauce.
Recipe Vicki Ravlich Horan, Images Ashlee DeCaires