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Prep time
30 minutes
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Cook time
40 minutes
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Serves
6
Author Notes
I wanted a simple homey dish of pears baked in cream. I flipped through Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts: a pear tart provided the basis for the poaching liquid. I had an open bottle of wine to use up. There wasn't nearly enough in there--is there ever?-- so I opened a second bottle of same. This in itself was cause for celebration, so I raised a glass and sampled some. Immediately things fell into place--oops! I forged tipsily ahead. For the cream sauce I referred to a new book on my shelf, Gâteaux from the Fait Maison series for a sort of crème Anglais, sans eggs. Here is the happy result. Let me know how you like it! —creamtea
Ingredients
- to poach pears
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3
firm-ripe Bosc pears, peeled, halved, the seeds scooped out with a melon baller, and cored with a sharp knife
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4 cups
sweet bubbly white wine (I used Moscato)
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3 tablespoons
granulated organic sugar
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1/2
vanilla bean, split, and the seeds scraped with the point of a sharp knife
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1 tablespoon
freshly-squeezed lemon juice plus a little extra for squeezing over pears
- for the final assembly
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1 tablespoon
butter plus extra for greasing the pan
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2 cups
half-and-half
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3 tablespoons
granulated organic sugar
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1/2
vanilla bean, split, and the seeds scraped with the point of a sharp knife
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2 tablespoons
cornstarch, sifted
Directions
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Pre-heat oven to 375º.
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Butter a casserole large enough to hold the pear halves in one layer.
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In a medium saucepan, combine the white wine, 3/4 C sugar, half-pod of the vanilla bean and seeds, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, 3-4 minutes. Add pear halves. Turn flame to low.
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Poach for 10-15 minutes or until tender, lift with slotted spoon and place in buttered casserole cut-side down, alternating the direction of the pears. Continue to simmer down the syrup until reduced by 1/3. Brush about a teaspoon of syrup onto each pear half. Dot each pear half with butter.
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In a small heavy saucepan, combine the half-and-half, the 3 tablespoons of sugar, the remaining 1/2 vanilla bean and its seeds, and the cornstarch. Over medium heat and whisking constantly, bring the cream mixture gently to a boil. Lower heat and continue to whisk until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove vanilla bean and gently pour cream around the pears. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes; remove cover and bake an additional 30-40 minutes (begin checking after 20 minutes) until custard has thickened and poufed a bit and top and edges have browned nicely. Remove from oven, serve warm.
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