Just for fun: Recipe sharing

Jane from Mahora

What's your fave cake? Mine is pear and rum cake. I am a huge fan of lemon anything, but have yet to find a lemon cake recipe that is moist enough and doesn't over-colour when baked.. one of my life's missions (I lead a sorry little existence hehe)

Here's my recipe for Pear & Rum cake:

1&1/2c sultanas
1c water
3c peeled and diced pears
1/2c marsala or rum (I’ve only ever used rum or masala – rum you can taste in the cake, marsala not so much)
1&1/2t baking soda

190g butter
1c and 3T sugar
2 large free range eggs
1t vanilla essence

2&1/2c plain white flour
1T baking powder
1t cinnamon
1t ginger
1t mixed spice
1t ground cloves

Bring the sultanas and water to a simmer, let them bubble away for 5 mins. Add the pears, baking soda and booze then turn off the heat, cover and leave to cool.

Cream the butter and sugar before adding the other ingredients.

Gently combine the wet with the dry and bake in a pre-heated 180 deg oven for approx 45 mins til cooked.

I line my baking tin but don’t think it’s critical, greasing it would be tho!
(No idea what size tin I use sorry, it's just "the pear cake tin"!) ;)

Serve dusted with icing sugar and with soft whipped cream as a dessert. Or cold with just the icing sugar dusting.

I have put pecans on the top of this before baking, that was a fab touch.
I have subbed in apples and they're good too!

This recipe never fails and even people who don't like pears or rum will scoff it happily.

PS If you wanted to share your fave recipe, I know I wouldn't complain - I am *that* person who tears a page out of a magazine with a recipe on it (well, not so much now, I tend to take a photo of it but before I had a cell phone you'd see me carefully watching everyone in the room to see if anyone could tell I was nicking off with the page I wanted) :-D

More messages from your neighbours

16 days ago

Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.

Local Highlight

1 day ago

Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑

Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.

We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?

Want to read more? The Press has you covered!

🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?

53.8% Human-centred experience and communication

53.8% Complete
14.1% Critical thinking

14.1% Complete
29.4% Resilience and adaptability

29.4% Complete
2.7% Other - I will share below!

2.7% Complete

333 votes

Local Highlight

19 hours ago

The latest product recalls