Baked Pears With Chocolate Sauce And Pomegranate Seeds Recipes

BAKED PEARS IN SPICED POMEGRANATE SYRUP

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
• In a small non-reactive sauce pan (such as stainless steel, glass, enameled or nonstick), combine the pomegranate juice and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, then add the lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and cloves.
• Arrange the pears cut side down in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour the pomegranate syrup over the pears, and place the dish in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes, basting occasionally, until the pears are tender and easily pierced with a sharp knife. If serving hot, proceed to the next step; otherwise, cover and chill until ready to serve.
• Place the pears in shallow bowls and spoon the syrup over top. Sprinkle the pomegranate arils around the pears and garnish with cinnamon sticks, if desired. Serve with fork and knife for cutting the pear, and a spoon for the syrup. (The dish may be served hot, cold or room temperature.)
• Note: Be sure to use firm, not ripe, pears. It's best to peel them with a vegetable peeler and core them with a mellon baller.

VANILLA POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE AND ICE CREAM (A.K.A. "POIRE BELLE HELENE")

Steps:

• Combine the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and add both the seeds and the pod to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• Peel the pears. Reduce the poaching liquid to a simmer and add the pears. Cook until just tender (the tip of a paring knife will go through the flesh of a pear with just a little resistance), about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool the pears in the poaching liquid, until completely cooled, about 45 minutes.
• Heat the cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Put the chocolate and butter into a medium-size bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy.
• Serve the pears with a scoop of ice cream, a little pear-poaching syrup and warm chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. Garnish with a wafer cookie and serve.

BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place pear halves, cut side up, in a shallow 1-qt. baking dish. Place butter in the center of each; drizzle with lemon juice. , Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over pears. Top with marmalade. Bake, covered, until heated through, 15-20 minutes.

PEARS IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Leave stems on peeled pears. Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.
• In a saucepan large enough to accommodate 4 pears standing upright, combine water and sugar. Place over medium heat, and boil until sugar is dissolved. Stir in vanilla, then place the pears in. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool in liquid, then drain.
• In the top of a double boiler, combine chocolate, cream and butter. Heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in coffee liqueur.
• Place pears on serving dish, pour chocolate sauce over pears, and garnish with maraschino cherries.

ROASTED-PEAR POUNDCAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• For the cake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the pear slices on a baking sheet and roast until tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Place the pears in a food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until very light; batter will appear curdled at this point. Mix in the vanilla and the pear puree.
• Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter just until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top springs back when touched in the center, about 1 hour. Place on a rack to cool. Turn the cake out of the pan and reinvert onto a cake plate.
• To make the sauce, place the chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Whisk in the cream and brandy. If making the sauce in advance, rewarm before serving. To serve, place a slice of cake on a plate and spoon the chocolate sauce beside it.

BAKED PEARS WITH SAUTERNES CUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Peel pears, leaving stems intact, then core from bottom using a melon-ball cutter or a sharp small knife. Stir together raisins, brown sugar, zests, and 2 tablespoons Sauternes and fill pear cavities with mixture. Stand pears upright in a buttered baking dish just large enough to hold them and pour remaining cup Sauternes over pears.
• Cover dish tightly with foil and bake in middle of oven until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer pears to a serving dish or plates using a metal spatula to hold filling in place and pour cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl.
• Whisk together yolks and granulated sugar in a large metal bowl and add hot cooking liquid in a stream, whisking constantly. Put bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and vigorously whisk, or beat with a handheld electric mixer, until mixture is tripled in volume and registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Serve pears warm with sauce.

CHOCOLATE POMEGRANATE SEEDS

Steps:

• Refrigerate the pomegranates (not required, but it helps).
• Remove all the seeds and place them in a colander.
• Gently rinse the seeds, then lay them out on paper towels to let them dry.
• Lay out a large sheet of wax paper on a a cookie sheet which will fit inside your refrigerator.
• Melting the chocolate the easy way: put the chocolate chips in a glass container (I'd use my big 4-cup Pyrex measuring thingy) and microwave them until they're melted, stirring occasionally; don't overdo it, though- you don't want the chocolate to burn or get tough.
• Melting the chocolate another way: in a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips (if you don't have a double boiler a metal or oven-safe glass dish over boiling water works too); stir constantly while melting so you don't scorch the chocolate.
• Add the pomegranate seeds to the melted chocolate (making sure the seeds are not wet on the surface, or else the chocolate can seize) and fold gently with rubber spatula until the seeds are thoroughly covered, then spoon out globs of the mixture, whatever size you like, on to the wax paper.
• Place the wax papered cookie sheet in the refrigerator and let the chocolate-covered seeds cool overnight (or for as long as you can stand before tasting them).
• Keep refrigerated- they should keep for 3-4 days, at least, although I doubt they'll last that long once you taste them.
• Enjoy!

SPICED PEARS AND POMEGRANATE

Steps:

• Place the sliced pears and pomegranate seeds into a bowl. Toss with lemon juice to coat. Combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a small cup or bowl, then mix into the fruit. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to blend the flavors. Serve in individual dishes, and garnish with a sprinkling of chopped almonds and a sprig of mint.

BAKED PEARS WITH ORANGE CINNAMON SAUCE

Steps:

• Core and halve the pears.
• Place them face down in a greased baking dish.
• Whisk together the orange juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and water.
• Pour over the pears.
• Sprinkle over the raisins.
• Cover the baking dish with aluminium foil and bake in a 425 F or 220 C oven for 25 minutes.
• This is the time needed to bake fairly hard pears, so if yours are soft you may be able to take them out after 10-15 minutes.
• Take the dish out of the oven.
• Using a spoon, scoop up any juice on the bottom of the pan and drizzle it over the pears.
• Sprinkle over the brown sugar.
• Turn on the top element of the oven and put the pears back in the oven for a couple minutes until they start to brown on top.
• Remove from the oven.
• Divide between two bowls and serve topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Peel the pears, leaving the stalks intact, then take the core out from the bottom of each by using a small sharp knife or a melon baller. Flatten the bottom by slicing off a little bit so that it will sit upright when served. Put the pears into a saucepan with the zests, vanilla pod, sugar, cinnamon, white wine and 600ml water, then bring to the boil. Lower the heat and poach for about 20-25 mins until they are cooked all the way through, but are not so soft that they will fall apart. Leave to cool in the liquid. Can be made and chilled a day ahead.
• When cool, take the pears out, strain out the cinnamon, zest and vanilla pod (keep the pod, allow it to dry, then pop it into a jar of sugar to make vanilla sugar), then pour the syrup back in the pan. Boil until reduced by half to a thin syrup.
• Meanwhile, to make the sauce, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Warm the cream, milk and butter in a heavy based pan. Stir this into the melted chocolate, set aside and keep warm. Can be made and chilled a day ahead. If the sauce cools and thickens too much, warm it again gently over a pan of simmering water or for 30 secs in a microwave. Serve the pears with plenty of syrup, chocolate sauce and good-quality vanilla ice cream.

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Core pears from bottom, leaving stems intact. Peel pears. Cut 1/4 in. from bottom to level if necessary. Place in a large saucepan; add the water, vanilla, cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until pears are almost tender., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and cinnamon. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Cool. , Drain pears; place on dessert plates. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.