Pears in Chocolate Fudge Baskets
- Ready In:
- 55mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Yields:
-
6 Whole Pears
- Serves:
- 6
ingredients
-
FOR THE PEARS
- 6 small pears (ripe)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1⁄2 cups water
- 1 cinnamon stick
-
FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1⁄2 cup milk
- 7 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate (broken into pieces)
directions
- Peel pears (leaving stems attached), scoop out cores from the base & cut a slice from the non-stem end of the pears so they will stand when served. Brush all cut surfaces w/lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
- Put sugar & water in a lrg saucepan. Heat gently till the sugar dissolves. Add pears & the cinnamon stick w/any remaining lemon juice. If necessary, add more water so the pears are almost covered.
- Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover pan & simmer pears gently for 15-20 min or til they are just tender when pierced w/a skewer.
- While pears are poaching, make sauce. Place cream, sugar, butter, corn syrup & milk in a heavy saucepan. Heat gently till the sugar has dissolved & the butter & syrup have melted. Then bring the sauce to a boil.
- Boil (stirring constantly) for about 5 min or till the sauce is thick. Remove from heat & stir in the chocolate (a few squares at a time) till melted & set aside.
- When pears are finished poaching, remove cinnamon stick, use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a dish & keep warm.
- Boil poaching liquid rapidly to reduce to a syrup of about 4 tablespoons Then stir the syrup into the chocolate sauce.
- Place pears in individual bowls, pour the sauce evenly over the 6 pears & serve immediately.
- NOTE: If you prefer to do all the prep ahead & serve cold, chill pears well & dip the bottom half of ea pear in the sauce by carefully holding the stem end or by using a fork. You'll get a "true" basket effect doing this. You can also create a scalloped effect by tilting them slightly in the sauce at intervals. If you work fast & want to get more fancy, affix slivered almonds to the edges of the chocolate sauce.
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Reviews
-
Poached pears is one of my favorite desserts!! I messed up the sauce a bit - I added the chocolate with everything else & boiled it just the same but it didn't thicken as I thought it would. I also didn't reduce the poaching liquid - got anxious to eat, lol. I reduced it some & added the 4TB or so. YUMYUMYUM. Reminds me of Belle Helene, basically a pear hot fudge sundae that I had in Paris last summer. Silly me, I added vanilla ice cream that melted instantly under the sauce. The cinnamon came through VERY nicely! Thank you for a fantabulous dessert!! Made for the 4/08 Aussie Swap. ETA: the sauce thickened wonderfully as it cooled. I did reduce the simple syrup & added it to the chocolate sauce. We are drowning in drool. I served some over roasted pineaapple the other day, too. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
twissis
Iceland
I am an American transplanted from Dallas to Iceland by marriage to a native Icelander & I retired to become his "Kitchen Queen". We love to entertain our family & friends, so I have an eclectic collection of recipes. I especially love simple, easy-fix, flexible & make-ahead recipes - BUT also like challenging myself on occasion. I enjoy baking & food photography. I am devoted to the "More is Always Better Principle" & apply it liberally to bacon, butter & garlic. I can have ingredient issues due to availability here in Iceland & my DH is medically diet-restricted from some ingredients as well. Either situation might require me to modify a recipe, but I will do my best to be true to your recipes & fair/honest in my reviews. Mary Pat (aka twissis)