4 Spiced Pear Cake

So today has been awesome.  

Mostly because when I went to sleep and woke up this morning my hubs was next to me.  And if I heard weird noises in the middle of the night, he got up and checked it out for me.  

I've missed that.

We woke up to a couple of inches of snow, which was a huge change for him - coming from a tropical island and all.  But it made the morning so cozy.  

He laughed at my huge, nerdy moose socks.  They are awesome.  And warm.

I love to throw seed out for the birds and sip my tea, watching the different ones come and go.  (my favorite is the red bellied woodpecker - but don't tell the others)

And then we talked about what to do for the day.  It's so nice to have my partner in crime back again.

And when we left the house and started to drive away and I had my usual moment of panic..."Did I lock the front door?" - he was there to tell me (as always) "Yes you did."

I wore my red skinnies to totally impress him...I think it worked.  And we picked up my contacts, ran by the specialty beer store and Trader Joe's.  

Nothin' fancy.  But I could hold his hand, and giggle as we tried on cool or crazy sunglasses at Lenscrafters.  My buddy was back!  

Last night we ate M&M's, drank our favorite Malbec and watched a marathon of Diner's, Drive-In's and Dives.  And snuggled.  

Tonight we're going to make pasta with vodka sauce, our fav.  and I will force him to play old school board games like Yahtzee and Perquacky.

Complete bliss.

Spiced Pear Cake


This cake is super moist and the warm spices and pears go beautifully together.  The Crystallized Ginger is my secret - it melts into the batter as it cooks and gives just a hint of heat to the cake.  A delicate and wonderful surprise.

Recipe:

(Inspired by my mom's friend Tanis)

2 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp Cinnamon

3/4 tsp salt

1 T water

2 cups All Purpose flour

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 15 oz cans Pears in light syrup, Halves, drained

5 cubes Crystallized Ginger, finely chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Grease/Flour a 13 x 9 pan.

3.  In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and oil until foamy.

4.  Add the sugar, vanilla, baking soda and water and beat until fluffy.  

5.  In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

6.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture.  Beat until smooth.

7.  Dice the pears into bite sized cubes and gently fold into the batter.  The dough will be stiff and the pears will add liquid to it.

8.  Next, fold in the finely chopped Crystallized ginger.  And mix.

9.  Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.

10.  Let cool completely on a wire rack.