Cardamom cake with whole poached pears and white chocolate

Sometimes I'd like to share a nice picture of my bakings on Instagram. Just like last Saturday. Reactions on my account and Facebook and Twitter page made me post this recipe. It's too good not to share it with you guys. Hence the recipe.

3 whole conference pears, pealed and stalk still attached
1 bottle of white wine
250g sugar
4 cloves, 3 star anise, 8 cardamom pods and 2 cinnamon sticks

for the cake

200g of soft unsalted butter
200g sugar
4 eggs
200g of self raising flour
1 tbsp cardamom powder
pinch of salt
and some white chocolate, in pieces

Poach the 3 pears for 30 minutes in a pan, submerged in white wine, sugar, cloves, star anise, cardamom and cinnamon sticks. Add 500ml of water.
After 30 minutes, remove them and leave to cool off. Put the fluid aside.
Preheat the oven 170°C.
Beat the butter and sugar till it's fluffy and creamy ; add all eggs 1 at a time. (only add the next egg till the previous one is completely absorbed)
Strain the flour, cardamom powder and salt ; add these to the batter.
Grease a cake tin and line it with some baking paper ; grease this too.
Pour the batter into the tin and push all 3 pears into it (see picture above)
Bake for about 40 minutes (check before you remove it, it could use another 5 minutes just like my cake needed some additional time)
Once ready, remove from the oven and let it cool off entirely.
When it's ready remove it from the tin and melt the white chocolate au bain marie.
Drizzle some from a spoon onto your cake.

Use the remaining wine fluid as a sauce ; boil it until it's reduced to half it's content.
When you serve a piece of this cake, drizzle some of the wine fluid on top.

Enjoy !