Eaglesgarden: I guess because I am a cook and a person with taste. I am not defending ginger anymore that I would "defend" any other important ingredient in a recipe. Boy, I could really run with this ball into ridiculousness. If you replace a particularly significant taste (as fresh ginger is) with something that tastes completely different (powdered ginger), you will not get the same flavor results. Try making your next BBQ steak out of beef jerky! If you have never eaten a steak, the dried jerky might taste OK. If you are concerned about buying a knob of ginger (about 25 cents here), and having the balance go to waste, you may freeze it and grate it frozen into dishes you might make. It combines well with chicken dishes and chicken stock, a variety of pork dishes, and any number of Asian dishes. After tasting a small amount, you will have an idea of what it might go with (pairs wonderfully with pineapple). Jim in So Calif

They taste every bit as good as they smelled! The ginger is milder than I expected - maybe because I am a ginger junkie and was eating pieces of crystallized ginger as I was chopping it. But they do have a lovely flavor, texture and I am VERY pleased with the recipe! I highly recommend it! Also - as far as nuts go - I am making 2 other kinds with nuts in them, so I wanted one that would appeal to the no-nuts people, but I think that would be a fine addition. Alexa

I was wondering that myself Sally, since that was my last can of the pears. That type of canned pear is so yummy I'm debating whether to make some more with store bought pears just to have on hand. I have also made pear upside down cake with canned pears, and pear parfaits with the pears in port and vanilla pudding. Both were super yummy. Just the pears warmed up with a dab of whipped cream is good too. When I make this again I probably won't have the pears in port, so I might use canned pears and soak them in some type of sweet wine if I was really going over the top. But then again, I'll bet this cake is yummy with just plain old canned pears OR as the recipe calls for, regular ripe pears. What I thought was wonderful about it is that it is a special cake that you could whip up even if you didn't have fresh fruit on hand. I mean it was 8 o'clock at night before I had to go into work the next day, and when I could not find my traveling round cake pan and I realized that the pear upside down cake was out of the question, I was able to whip this thing up instead, which was good. I really love those secret recipes where you can pull off something special with seemingly nothing. The crystalized ginger is another thing to keep on hand which you can pull off as your secret weapon, and it would work with other cakes too. Another thing you could add would be raisins soaked in some kind of sweet wine with a clove or two thrown in for good measure. When I make this again if I don't have fancy fruits, I'm going to add maybe 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice to the mix, since the canned pears were spiced. So my new secret weapons for jazzing up plain old cakes are crystalized ginger, sweet wine, and the sanding sugar. That is actually "sugar in the raw" which I have had sitting around for ages. I have some apricots that have been soaking in brandy for a year in the fridge now. They will make something special sooner or later I think. No trouble to have on hand for special effects.

I agree with Linda. I've only used malt powder, and it was sweet like molasses, but of course has its own distinct flavor. I think if you used 1-1/2 tbsp molasses and half a tsp of brewers' yeast, you might get a somewhat similar flavor. Since I haven't tried this, I would recommend combining the yeast with the molasses and see how it tastes. This is pure speculation on my part, but I think the flavors are similar. You could also use maple syrup instead or make your own malt substitute from sprouted wheat berries. Lars Here is a link that might be useful: Make your own malt substitute