Four round, firm pears (peeled, halved and cored), 75g of dark brown sugar, four tablespoonfuls of runny honey, one-and-a-half teaspoonfuls of ground ginger, the juice and finely grated zest of half a lemon, four tablespoonfuls of unsalted butter, eight cardamom pods (squashed) – from Good Earth.
Heat the oven to gas mark 4/180C. Put the pear-halves in a small roasting-pan, cut side down, and in a single layer, so that they fit in quite snugly. Sprinkle them with the sugar, ginger and zest, and drizzle on the honey and lemon juice. Dot the pears with butter and tuck in the cardamom pods. Bake the pears for 40 minutes, turning them cut side up and basting them with the juice halfway through, until they are tender and the sauce is bubbling and sweet. Leave them to cool for five minutes before serving them with cream.