Spiced Poached Pears with Vanilla Custard
Fragranced with cinnamon and star anise, poached pears make an elegant dinner party dessert that can be prepared in advance. Serve warm with vanilla custard or ice cream. Alternatively, slice thinly and serve with crumbled Stilton and dressed salad leaves as a light lunch. Any leftovers are perfect with granola and a dollop of Greek yogurt for breakfast.
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Spiced Poached Pears:
Ingredients:
- 6 firm, ripe pears
- 300g caster sugar
- 1 litre cold water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 star anise
- Pared rind of 1 lemon
- 6 firm ripe pears
Method
- Place all the ingredients except the pears in a large saucepan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
- Peel the pears keeping the stems intact and place in the syrup.
- Poach the pears gently for approximately 10 minutes. Make sure that the pears are submerged in the syrup throughout the cooking time.
- To check if the pears are cooked, gently insert the tip of a sharp knife. The pears should feel soft.
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow the pears to cool in the poaching syrup.
Tips:
- Replace 300ml of poaching water with sweet white wine for a more sophisticated dessert.
- Strain, cool and reserve the poaching syrup to use again. Store in a lidded jar in the fridge
Vanilla Custard
Silky, smooth home-made vanilla custard is delicious hot or cold. Once you’ve mastered the basic technique you’ll never buy ready-prepared custard again.
Serves: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 700ml whole milk
- 200ml double cream
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Method
- Pour the milk and cream into a milk pan and gently bring to the boil.
- Place the egg yolks, cornflour, sugar and vanilla bean paste in a large bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
- Gradually pour the hot milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
- Pour the mixture back into the milk pan and heat gently. Continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon.
- Serve with poached pears or chill and place in the fridge.
Tips:
- Freeze the custard then churn to make super easy vanilla ice cream.
- If the custard splits or curdles remove from heat and place the base of the saucepan into cold water. Whisk vigorously until smooth.