Poached Pears with Vanilla and Cinnamon
Master this elegant dessert with guidance from top chef, Michael Caines. Poached Pears make a fantastic dinner party dessert and can be prepared in advance.
From the book
Michael Caines At Home
Michelin standard home cooking
Ideas for easy home entertaining
All Michael Caines' signature dishes
Introduction
Simple yet effective, pears have such a wonderful fragrant flavour that you need to use spice in a considered way to complement their fabulous taste. It’s best not to use over-ripened fruit for poaching, but they should not be too hard either.
Ingredients
| 1l | water |
| 300g | caster sugar |
| 1 | cinnamon stick |
| 1 | vanilla pod, cut in half and seeds scraped out |
| 1 | lemon, juice |
| 8 | ripe pears |
Method
Place all the ingredients except the pears in a stainless steel saucepan, do not turn on the heat. Peel the pears, add them to the pan once they are peeled, then place them onto the stove and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook the pears carefully.
Once cooked, remove the pan from the heat and allow the pears to cool in the sugar syrup. To check if they are cooked, take a paring knife and push it into the middle of the fruit. If the pears feel soft, they are cooked. They can be served hot or cold.
