Perry is a cider made from pears (although if you can't find it easily, feel free to substitute with regular cider) and will amplify the flavour of the poached pears.
If you want to go even further, serve it with some custard, or a crushed up shortbread biscuit on top for some added texture.
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Yields:
8 serving(s)
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr
Total Time:
1 hr 15 mins
Cal/Serv:
224
Ingredients
125g
granulated sugar
8
firm pears
500ml
Perry (like cider, but made with pears instead of apples)
1
vanilla pod, split
50g
light muscovado sugar
50g
butter
50g
plain chocolate
125ml
double cream
Directions
Step 1
Put the granulated sugar into a pan with 300ml water. Place over a low heat. Once sugar has dissolved, bring to boil for 2min.
Step 2
Slice a small piece off the bottom of each pear so it sits upright. Peel, leaving the stalks intact. Add pears to the sugar syrup, then add the perry and vanilla pod. Bring to just under the boil, then simmer for 45min-1hr, turning pears in the liquid to avoid browning. Pierce with a knife to check they're tender. Transfer pears and liquor to a bowl to cool.
Step 3
Put the remaining ingredients into a small pan and melt gently over a low heat. Stir a couple of times until glossy.
Step 4
Sit a pear on each dessert plate (discard the liqueur) and pour 1tbsp hot chocolate sauce over each. Serve the rest of the sauce separately in a jug.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
