Method

• Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced.
• Put dates, ginger and 400ml boiling water in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil. Add bicarb and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes to cool to room temperature.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat, using whisk attachment, for 4 minutes or until light and creamy. Beat in golden syrup and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in cooled date mixture. Sift flour into mixture and stir to combine. Stir in diced pear.
• Pour batter into a 30cm x 22cm tin and smooth the surface. Use a mandolin to thinly slice the whole pear into 5mm thick discs. Arrange on top of batter, slightly overlapping. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until deep brown and cooked through when tested with a skewer.
• Meanwhile, to make the caramel sauce, put butter, golden syrup and sugar in a small saucepan and heat over a high heat, stirring until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved. Stir in cream and reduce heat to medium. Boil, stirring, for 5 minutes or until deeper brown and slightly thickened. Allow to stand for 15 minutes – sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.
• Serve pudding drizzled with caramel sauce, dusted with icing sugar, and dolloped with cream and ice-cream.