Put the Hooper's Alcoholic Dandelion & Burdock, light brown soft sugar and orange into a medium size saucepan on a medium heat
Prepare the pears, then add them to the pan. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, and simmer for 15 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted into the pears meets no resistance
Remove the pears from the poaching liquid using a slotted spoon, place them on a plate or in a dish to cool down
Bring the poaching liquid to the boil, and allow to boil for 20-30 minutes until it starts to thicken. Place into a bowl or container to cool fully, it will thicken more as it cools (if it doesn't, you can put it back on the heat)
Pre-heat the oven to 150C Fan/325F/Gas Mark 3, and grease and line a 8" cake tin (that is at least 2" deep)
To make the cake, mix the butter or baking spread, and dark brown soft sugar together until well combined, ideally using an electric mixer
Mix in the eggs, natural yoghurt and black treacle
Then gently mix in the plain flour, baking powder, and all of the spices (cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg)
Put the cake mixture into the tin and smooth it out to an even layer
Slice up the pears and arrange them on top of the cake batter. You may need to omit the odd slice if the pears are very long to make them fit. (Any pears that don't fit can be snacked on while you wait for the cake to cook!)
Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, (I would recommend checking it after 1 hour as all ovens are different) once a thin skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, it is done
Slice and drizzle the syrup over the cake to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days