Festive Poached Pears with Sponge Toffee

Ingredients

Yield:

8

• Poached Pears

  • 750 ml red wine
  • 1 vanilla bean split
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 pieces star anise
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 inch piece ginger, sliced
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 5 fennel seeds
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 lemon, juiced and rind peeled
  • 1 orange, juiced and rind peeled
  • 8 pears

• Sponge Toffee

  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup white corn syrup
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp vanilla

Preparation

Difficulty:

Medium

Time:

3 Hours

Total Time:

3 Hours

1. Preparing Pears

   1. 1. In a large saucepan, place red wine, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, bay leaf, fennel, rosemary, sugar, berries, rind and juice. Heat over a medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
   2. 2. Peel the pears and remove the base core with a knife or melon baller. Leave the stem intact. As each pear is prepared, pop it into the poaching liquid.
   3. 3. Cut a piece of baking paper the same size as your pot and sit it on top of the pears to keep them submerged. Simmer over a very low heat for approximately 45 minutes, or until tender. Carefully lift the pears from the liquid.
   4. 4. Reduce the liquid by two-thirds to make a light syrup, and cool down.

2. Sponge Toffee Preparation

   1. 1. In saucepan, stir together sugar, corn syrup and water over medium heat until sugar dissolves
   2. 2. Bring to boil; cook, without stirring but brushing down side of pan occasionally with pastry brush dipped in cold water, until 1 tsp (5 mL) hot syrup dropped into cold water forms hard brittle threads, about 10 minutes
   3. 3. Remove from heat. Standing back and whisk in baking soda (caramel will bubble and sputter and increase in volume)
   4. 4. Whisk in vanilla.
   5. 5. Pour into parchment lined baking sheet
   6. 6. Let cool in pan on rack without disturbing, about 2 hours