Spiced apple and ginger pudding

Despite the short respite we've had from the wintery cold two weeks ago, I'm still feeling the chill in the air.  So it's only appropriate that I continue with the winter warming dessert theme!  

Last weekend, I decided to spontaneously prepare a "Christmas in July" dinner which led me to baking a pie with homemade (rough) puff pastry and these little "puddings" (which I'd like to add proudly was all done in the space of 3 hours, whoa!).

These may not look like the cute little puddings I was hoping they would be.  In fact, I was rather disappointed these came out looking like plain ol' muffins (not that there's anything wrong with that - I just had a completely different vision in mind!).  I was very tempted to do individual sticky date puddings, but after a period of making (and solely consuming) sticky date cake practically every week for almost 3 months many many years ago, I guess you can say that I don't have quite the same fervour for them as I once did!

C and I started a tradition of having french toast topped with caramelised spiced apples for breakfast on Christmas morning, so I had to somehow incorporate this into our Christmas in July feast.  I decided to turn the sticky date pudding into a spiced apple pudding with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, topped with a butterscotch sauce.  Unfortunately, these didn't turn out that rich dark brown colour that is reminiscent of sticky date (and neither did it have that same kind of fluffiness). Despite this, they were still a hit!

These puddings/muffins (whatever you want to call them) tasted great on their own, however add the butterscotch sauce and these were absolutely delicious!  Perfect for a winter's day!

Caramelised Upside Down Pear Cake

Admittedly, this is not the prettiest cake I've made, but its simple, rustic, and best of all, yummy!

About a couple of weeks ago, we had our regular catch up with friends over a home cooked meal and with the weather being so cold recently, it felt appropriate to bake something that was warming and homely. What's more winter warming than a caramelised upside down pear cake! 

This is the kind of cake that I imagine a nanna would make served with a cup of earl grey tea.  It's moist with just the right of amount of sweetness.  It's known that I don't have a big sweet tooth so this cake was just perfect for me.  You could easily have a second slice without feeling overly indulgent, which is exactly what I did, with a cup of tea of course!

This is a really easy cake to make.  Cut the pears, place them into the cake tin, pour the mixture over the pears and let it all bake in the oven.  It does, however, take a long time to bake.  The first time I made this cake, it took almost 2 hours in the oven so do ensure you leave loads of time for cooking.  The second time around (as shown in these pics), I cranked up the oven temperature and ended up baking for 1 hour 20 minutes - although it could have benefited from a bit longer in the oven, as the buttery caramel will crisp up the sides of the cake.