Spiced Pears with Chocolate and Cinnamon Sauce
Celebrity chef Tom Aikens is supporting Earth Hour on 26th March 2011.
What could be easier; register to take part and get together with friends and family to switch off to show you care about a world with a bright future.
Tom Aikens
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
- 8 Packham or Williams pears
For the poaching liquid
- 2.5 litres of water
- 1.5kg caster sugar
- 15g cinnamon sticks
- 15g star anise
- 10 cloves
- 8g juniper berries
- 30g fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 x 5g piece mace
- 2 vanilla pods, split and scraped
- roughly cut peel of 3 oranges
- roughly cut peel of 4 lemons
- 250ml lemon juice
- 200ml Cognac
Procedure
- Place all the ingredients for the poaching liquid into a pan.
- Bring to a slow simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the peeled pears and bring back to a simmer.
- Cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper.
- Cook for 25-30 minutes, until the pears are tender.
- Leave to cool in the syrup and then place in the fridge for a day.
For the sauce
Ingredients
- 170ml double cream
- 170ml full fat milk
- 2g powdered cinnamon
- 250g dark chocolate, finely chopped
Procedure
- Bring the milk and cream to the boil with the cinnamon.
- Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts and you get a shiny smooth emulsion.
- Serve the pears hot or cold with the hot chocolate and cinnamon sauce.
See more of Tom's great food ideas in our recipe section.