Cooking class: whip up a moreish poached pear cake

This fruit-adorned cake is one for the winter months. The addition of soy sauce to the toffee sauce gives a moreish salted caramel flavour.

Spiced poached pear cake with salted toffee sauce SERVES 12 PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES (+ COOLING TIME)

¾ cup (110g) self-raising flour

1 cup (100g) hazelnut meal

1 cup (220g) firmly packed brown sugar

150g butter, melted

6 egg whites

POACHED PEARS

9 small pears (900g)

1 vanilla bean

2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups (440g) firmly packed brown sugar

1.5 litres (6 cups) water

SALTED TOFFEE SAUCE

¾ cup (165g) caster sugar

¼ cup (60ml) water

¾ cup (180ml) thickened cream, at room temperature

1 tablespoon brandy

2-3 teaspoons Kikkoman Soy Sauce

1 POACHED PEARS Peel pears, leaving stalks intact. Remove cores from the base. Halve vanilla bean lengthways; scrape seeds into a medium saucepan. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and the water; stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, brushing down sides of pan to ensure sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil; add pears. Reduce heat to low; simmer, partially covered, turning pears occasionally, for 20 minutes or until pears are just tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove pears from syrup; cool. When cool enough to handle, trim 1cm from base of each pear to stand upright.

2 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease a 25cm springform pan; line base and side with baking paper.

3 Sift flour and hazelnut meal into a large bowl; stir in sugar. Whisk in butter, then egg whites until combined. Pour mixture into pan. Place poached pears in mixture, standing upright.

4 Bake cake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool cake in pan.

5 TOFFEE SAUCE Stir sugar and the water in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil; boil, without stirring, for 2 minutes, swirling pan occasionally to colour evenly, or until mixture is dark golden in colour. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk in cream; stir until smooth. Stir in brandy and Kikkoman Soy Sauce.

6 Serve cake drizzled with some of the toffee sauce. Accompany with cream or ice-cream and remaining toffee sauce.

Not suitable to freeze or microwave.