When we think pears, we think fall, but really you can eat poached pears all year round. I always looked at poached pears as a sophisticated dessert, but the preparation? .. Not too complicated. The key to this dessert is the homemade caramel sauce and fresh creme anglaise (English Custard or Stirred Custard). The tart pear, the warm caramel sauce, the sweet vanilla-based creme anglaise … Get ready. You just turned dessert into a moan-fest!
Pears Poached in Red Wine With Creme Anglaise And Caramel
Pears Poached in Red Wine With Creme Anglaise And Caramel
Author: The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Delicious poached pears are good, but with homemade caramel sauce and creme anglaise, they are heaven.
Ingredients
- Pears:
- 4 cups light red wine
- 2 cup sugar
- 2 cup water
- 2 strips orange zest
- 1 strip lemon zest
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
- 6 small Bosc pears
- Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- Dash lemon juice
- 3 ounces butter, cut into chunks
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Creme anglaise (English custard):
- 4 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup light cream
- 1 vanilla bean
Instructions
- Pears:
- In a medium-to-large heavy bottomed pot, add the wine, sugar, water, and orange and lemon zests and bring to a simmer. Peel, core, and, if desired, halve the pears and add to the liquid. Simmer until just tender, about 30-45 minutes, depending on variety and ripeness of pears. Chill the pears for a day or two in their poaching liquid.
- Caramel Sauce:
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the sugar, water, and a few drops of lemon juice over medium heat. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved, but once sugar mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring. Boil mixture, swirling pan if needed, until a caramel forms (color turns almost dark amber). Take pan off the heat and immediately add the butter and whisk until melted. (When adding butter and cream, mixture will foam up, so be careful.) Once it subsides, add the cream and whisk continuously until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
- Creme anglaise (English custard):
- Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into a saucepan with the cream. Add the vanilla bean pod to the cream and seeds, and scald. Take off the heat and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Lightly whisk the egg yolks. Gradually add sugar and pinch of salt, and whisk until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon. Remove the vanilla bean pod from the cream, and pour the cream in a steady stream over ribboned egg yolks and sugar. Place mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and coats the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT BOIL. (temperature should not exceed 180 degrees). Strain through a double-mesh sieve into a bowl set over an ice water bath.
- Serve the poached pears with the creme anglaise and drizzle with caramel sauce.
These look gorgeous. Saw your blog from Food Blogger Pro and wanted to say your site looks fantastic!
Jessica,
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to check out your blog!
take care
alexis