Preparation Notes: plus 30min chilling and 30min cooling
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Yields:
6
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 10 mins
Ingredients
For the shortbread stars
250g (9oz) plain white flour
175g (6oz) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Grated rind of 1 lemon
75g (3oz) caster sugar, plus sugar to dust
For the pears
150ml (1⁄4 pint) white wine
150g (5oz) caster sugar
Zested rind of 1 large orange
1 vanilla pod
6 medium pears, quartered, cored and thickly sliced
180ml (12tbsp) low-fat crème fraîche
Directions
Step 1
To make the shortbread stars, place the flour, butter and grated lemon rind in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the sugar and 10ml (2tsp) water and pulse until the mixture forms a dough. Wrap and chill for 30min.
Step 2
On a lightly floured worksurface, roll out the shortbread to a thickness of 5mm (1⁄4in). Cut out 12 star shapes, approximately 7.5cm (3in) in diameter. Dust with caster sugar and place on baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper. Bake at 200°C (180°C fan oven) mark 6 for 10-12min or until pale golden brown. Cool.
Step 3
To cook the pears, place the wine, sugar, orange zest, vanilla pod and pears in a wide saucepan or frying pan. Cook over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, then increase the heat, cover the pears and simmer for 10-15min or until the pears are just transparent. Lift the pears out of the syrup to cool. Bring the liquid to the boil and bubble for 2-3min or until syrupy. Cool.
Step 4
Just before serving, place one shortbread star on each serving plate, arrange sliced pears on top, add 30ml (2tbsp) crème fraîche to each, then drizzle with orange syrup and top with another shortbread star.
Complete the recipe up to the end of step 3. Store the shortbread stars in an airtight container for up to one week. Cool, cover and chill the pears and orange syrup separately for up to two days.
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”!).
