Much like a warm hug, this burnt maple pear and ginger dumpling pudding is the ultimate dessert for cooler days. Caramelised maple syrup, spiced rum and citrus zest mingle to create a glossy, warming sauce that gently poaches tender slices of corella pear. Soft ginger dumplings baked atop soak up the sticky-sweet juices, their fragrant spice perfectly balanced by the tartness of fresh ginger and allspice. Finished with an extra brush of syrup and served alongside creamy vanilla bean ice-cream, this dessert is a refined take on homely flavours. It’s the kind of pudding that pulls you back for seconds (or thirds).
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 160°C fan-forced. Cook maple syrup in a 25cm-diameter ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat until caramelised (4 minutes). Add butter and swirl to combine. Add sugar, rum, ginger, citrus zests and juices, 125ml water and 1 tsp sea salt flakes. Bring to a simmer; add pears and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened (5 minutes). Remove from heat; cool briefly.
For ginger dumplings, sift flour and spices into a bowl; stir through sugar and a pinch of fine sea salt, then rub in butter with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Make a well in centre; whisk egg and buttermilk in a jug to combine, add to well and mix to form a wet dough (don’t overmix). With damp hands, roll walnut-sized balls of dumpling batter (about 1 tbsp) and arrange on top of pears 1.5cm apart in pan. Brush dumplings with extra maple syrup, cover tightly with two layers of aluminium foil and bake until puffed (30 minutes). Remove pudding from oven, remove foil, brush dumplings with extra maple syrup and bake until golden and puffed (12-15 minutes).
Serve dumpling pudding hot with ice-cream.
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