Recipe: Goat's curd cake with poached brown sugar pears

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 24cm springform tin with butter and dust with flour. Beat butter and half of the sugar with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Beat in 4 of the eggs, 1 at a time, making sure they are all well incorporated.

2. Slowly beat in the milk and vanilla. In another bowl, sift flour, cinnamon and baking powders, then gradually add to butter mixture, beating slowly to make a batter.

3. Break up curd and place in a separate large bowl. Add sour cream and beat with a wooden spoon until well combined. Beat in the remaining sugar and remaining eggs, one at a time, until smooth.

4. Spread cake batter into prepared pan. Spread over base and two-thirds of the way up the sides. Pour curd mixture into centre of cake batter. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.

5. While cake is cooling, make the poached brown sugar pears. Place 1 litre of water in a large saucepan. Add vanilla bean and scraped seeds, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and sugar. Stir over a medium to high heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Reduce to medium-low.

6. Add pears. Cook, partially covered, turning occasionally, for 20 minutes or until just tender. Remove saucepan from the heat. Allow pears to cool slightly in syrup, turning occasionally.

7. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pears to a plate. Return syrup to a medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Boil for 10 minutes
   or until syrup has reduced by one third. Allow to cool.

8. Place goat’s curd cake on a serving plate and spoon over some of the syrup. Serve pears (cut into quarters, if desired)
   and remaining syrup with cake.