Pear & Verjuice Syrup Cake

The olive oil in this cake made it deliciously moist, which I cooked in the groves at Abilene Grove.

Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
½ cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup (185ml) buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
2 cups (300g) self-raising flour
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
3 pears, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm dice
1/3 cup (80ml) caramelised verjuice
Crème Fraiche or thick cream, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).  Grease and line the base of a 22cm spring form tin.
2. In a large jug whisk eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla together until well blended. Combine self-raising flour and caster sugar in a large bowl. Pour wet mixture over dry and fold gently until just mixed.  Stir through pears.
3. Pour into prepared tin and bake for one hour or until the cake is cooked when tested with a skewer.  Cool on a wire rack.
4. To serve, warm caramelised verjuice in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave and pour over cooled cake.  Serve slices with crème fraiche or thick cream.

This recipe comes from the TV series (and now cookbook), Lyndey Milan’s Taste of Australia. Buy your copy of the accompanying cookbook to the TV series online by clicking here!