Poached Pears

One thing that I learned in school was how to make poached pears. They are really easy to make and also super delicious. Making them is also very versatile because you can choose what kind of wine and spices you use to make them.

I made this cake when I was home for Thanksgiving break and I had been thinking about poached pears a few months prior and since I was at school I had a lot of time on thinking on the best way to make the best flavor combination.

I decided to make a brown sugar spice cake and poach the pears in red wine to give it a pretty color. The pears were going to be the filling of this cake surrounded by a Swiss meringue buttercream. It was delicious and super pretty.

I decided to make a brown sugar spice cake and poach the pears in red wine to give it a pretty color. The pears were going to be the filling of this cake surrounded by a Swiss meringue buttercream. It was delicious and super pretty.

Now you don't have to go all fancy with a cake to have poached pears. Eating them just as is with a little wine reduction and maybe some vanilla ice cream is just as fancy and yummy.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Poached Pears

Ingredients

• 5 firm, unripe pears
• 1 bottle of your choice of wine
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 whole cloves
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup of sugar       

     Directions                        

Peel all of the pears, leaving the stem intact. Put the wine, sugar, spices, and peeled pears into a big pot. Add enough water to the pot until the pears are completely immersed. If the pears float add some tinfoil to keep the pears down. Bring to a simmer and let cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the pears  are tender, and make sure to turn the pears occasionally. To check if they are tender poke them with a paring knife. Once done let them cool, cover and put into the fridge over night to let the flavors seep into the pears even more. The next day, or when ready to serve, take the pears out of the wine mixture. Strain all the spices out of the wine mixture. Put the wine mixture into a pot and let boil for about 15 minutes to reduce to a syrup. If you want it to be a thicker syrup you can add in a little bit of cornstarch if desired. To serve cut the pears and pour the syrup on top, adding ice cream if wanted.

NOTE: The spices and wine choices are optional. They can be switched out to your preference of flavors of choice.