Pears Baked In Grappa Recipes

GRAPPA-POACHED PEARS WITH SPECK

Steps:

• In a medium Dutch oven, combine the grappa, sugar, orange zest, salt, red pepper flakes, cloves, peppercorns, rosemary and 2 cups water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar; cook for 5 minutes. Carefully place the pears halves, cut-side down, in the poaching liquid. Cover with a piece of parchment pressed directly to the surface of the liquid, and simmer gently for 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pears to cool in the liquid for 5 minutes. Then remove the pears with a slotted spoon to a plate to cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• Cut each pear half into 4 wedges. Gather a few leaves of arugula and bundle them together with a pear wedge. Lay the bundle on one end of a piece of speck and roll up to enclose; secure with a toothpick. Repeat with the remaining pears, arugula and speck.

BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cut top quarter of pears off; create a well by scooping out the core, being careful not to puncture the bottom of the pear. Arrange pears in a shallow baking dish.
• Drizzle maple syrup over pears. Place 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon butter in each pear; sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Bake in preheated oven until pears are easily pierced with a fork, 35 to 50 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

BAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Core pears but do not peel.
• Place in greased 9" square pan.
• Combine oats, sugar, spices and butter until crumbly.
• Stuff pears letting excess fall into pan.
• Pour 3/4 cup apple juice into pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, basting after 30 minutes. Add more juice if necessary.
• Cool 30 minutes before serving.

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.

GRAPPA CAKE ( ITALIAN PEAR CAKE )

Steps:

• Make pear cake: Preheat oven to 350 and lightly butter and flour an 8 1/2" springform pan, knocking out excess flour.
• In a bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon and baking powder.
• In another bowl, with an electric mixer beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour misture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until it is just combined after each addition. Stir in grappa.
• Peel and core pears; cut into 1/2" dice. Fold pears, raisins or prunes and pine nuts into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top with remaining tablespoons sugar. Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it, 45 - 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack and remove side of pan.
• Make grappa sauce: In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together eggs, sugar and cinnamon until thick and pale. In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt butter and stir in egg mixture. Cook sauce, stirring constantly, until it is thickened and registers 165F on a candy thermometer (c. 7 min). Remove bowl from pan; stir in cream and grappa. Serve cake with warm sauce.

PEARS BAKED IN GRAPPA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Peel, quarter and core the pears. Place them in a buttered baking dish and sprinkle with sugar and grappa. Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender, depending on the ripeness of the pears.
• Sprinkle with chocolate and serve with creme fraiche.

PEAR CAKE WITH GRAPPA SAUCE

Steps:

• Make pear cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch springform pan, knocking out excess flour.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon, and baking powder. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy and beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until just combined after each addition, and stir in grappa. Peel and core pears and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Fold pears int batter with raisins or prunes and pine nuts.
• Pout batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack and remove side of pan.
• Make grappa sauce:
• In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together eggs, sugar, and cinnamon until thick and pale. In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt butter and stir in egg mixture. Cook sauce, stirring constantly, until thickened and it registers 165°F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from pan and stir in cream and grappa.
• Serve cake with warm sauce.

BAKED PEARS WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In an ovenproof skillet, combine butter, sugar, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Add pears, cut side down; cover with foil. Bake, turning pears over halfway through, until tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 25 minutes.
• Lift pear halves with a slotted spoon, allowing any juices to drip back into skillet, and divide among four serving plates. Bring liquid in skillet to a boil over medium heat. Add cream; cook until slightly thickened, 1 minute. Stir in raspberries. Spoon sauce over pears; serve.

APPLE-PEAR CRISP WITH GRAPPA-SOAKED RAISINS AND POLENTA TOPPING

Steps:

• To make the filling, in a large bowl, combine the raisins and grappa and let stand until most of the grappa has been absorbed, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Peel and core the apples and pears and cut them into 1/3-inch (8-mm) slices. Add the apple and pear slices to the grappa-soaked raisins along with the granulated sugar and vanilla. Toss well, then pack the mixture firmly into a 2-quart (2-liter) baking dish.
• To make the topping, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, nuts, brown sugar, polenta or cornmeal, and cinnamon a few times to combine. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is finely broken up. Continue to pulse until the mixture just begins to clump together.
• Scatter the topping evenly over the fruit. Bake until the topping is nicely browned and the fruit is tender (a sharp paring knife inserted into the center meets no resistance), about 50 minutes.
• Serve the crisp warm with a pitcher of cold heavy cream or scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream (page 143).
• The polenta topping can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months.
• If you're avoiding alcohol, you can skip macerating the raisins. You can substitute dried cranberries or diced prunes for the raisins.
• To make an APPLE-BLACKBERRY CRISP, in place of the grappa-soaked raisins, use 1 1/4 cups (6 ounces/170 g) blackberries; increase the apples to 8 medium (4 pounds/2 kg); omit the pears; and use 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• While the crisp bakes, have a sheet of aluminum foil on the oven rack below the crisp to catch any overflow of juices.