Pear & Ginger Cake

The other day I was reading a recipe book I had picked up from Home Goods - it was all about baking. One of the titles caught my eye - 'Pear & Ginger Cake' - Loved the flavor combo and thought of making it. I just added some cardamom and some nutmeg to add my touch to the flavors (I love nutmeg). It was a wonderful way to get back to baking. How I had missed my bowl mixer and my cake pans and my oven too :). The cake turned out nice and was over within no time :)

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 1/4 cup maida/refined flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
3 eggs (at room temperature)
2 pears (peeled, cored and thinly sliced) - brush them with lemon juice to avoid them from getting dark
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cardamom pods (peeled and finely crushed)
pinch of crushed nutmeg

Method

Lightly grease a deep 8 inch cake pan with butter and then dust it all over with flour and keep it aside.
Mix together the butter and sugar and eggs and beat well till its smooth and fluffy. Then add the flour little by little and mix till its a smooth consistency. Then add the ground ginger, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and baking powder and mix well till all is incorporated.
Spoon this cake mixture into the prepared cake pan and level the surface with a spatula very lightly. Arrange the pear slices over the batter and grease it with some butter and sprinkle the brown sugar.
Bake in a preheated over (350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius) for 35 to 40 minutes untill the cake top is golden and it is springy to touch.
Cool on a cooling rack.
Can be eaten slightly warm with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream or just like that :)