“IT IS, IN MY VIEW, THE DUTY OF AN APPLE TO BE CRISP AND CRUNCHABLE, BUT A PEAR SHOULD HAVE SUCH A TEXTURE AS LEADS TO SILENT CONSUMPTION.” Edward Bunyard, ‘The Anatomy of Dessert‘
There is a restaurant in Middleburg, Virginia called The French Hound, which offers a wonderful stuffed pear dessert, served with a creme anglaise. I wanted to try to recreate this dessert. But I wanted to include a pastry that would lend itself as a delicate crust to absorb all the luscious flavors. Kind of like a lighter version of pie. I added dried cherries to the poaching wine, and reduced it to a wonderful syrupy sauce. And the center of the pears? They are filled with…..
……a pear flavored dark chocolate that I found at Whole Foods! And I added almonds to the mix as well!
The result was sweet, rustic, elegance! Easy to make and the poached pears can be made in advance. You will need….
6 Bosc pears
2 cups of port or red wine
6 cups water
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling (I used a sprinkling sugar for the outer finish)
5 TBSP dried cherries
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cardamom pods
6 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
18 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed
Peel and core the pears. Cut a small slice off the bottoms to help them stand flat. Leave the stems intact. Combine the wine with 6 cups of water, the sugar, dried cherries, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the pears. (If necessary, add more water to make sure the pears are submerged.) Poach the pears until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat but let the pears cool in the poaching liquid. (If you do this step a day ahead, transfer the pears and liquid to a container, cover, and refrigerate.)
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the chopped chocolate, pecans, 3 TBSP of the melted butter, and a big pinch each of sugar and salt in a bowl. Remove the pears from the liquid (I blotted them with a paper towel to make them easier to handle.) Stuff each pear with some of the chocolate mixture.
Lay out 1 sheet of phyllo, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar. Repeat with another layer of phyllo, butter, sugar. And one more layer of phyllo, butter, sugar. (I placed each piece of phyllo at an angle on each other to almost resemble a star). Place a tablespoon of chocolate mixture into the center of the phyllo. Place the pear on top and fold up the sides of the phyllo to meet the pear stem, pinching, and twisting and bunching the excess phyllo at the top. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
While the pears are baking, simmer the poaching liquid over medium high heat until syrupy, 20-25 minutes. Serve the pears with the cherry syrup. And enjoy!
Oh my this looks so good. What a lovely and creative recipe.
Thanks Kim! : )
oh wow, I don’t even know what to say here… except that these are absolutely incredible. Beautiful work!
Thanks Sarah…actually these weren’t hard to make at all! : )
This is an excellent dessert and very arty!! I loved the presentation and the meticulousness involved here! The filling…the sauce with cherries…the crust…wow, dear! This recipe is worth bookmarking!! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thanks Purabi! Lots of great flavors in these little pouches! : )
Anne, this is so stunning! What an elegant and delicious dessert!!
Thanks Stephanie! It may look elegant but it is so easy! : )
Those are gorgeous Anne! And I love chocolate center…
Thanks Jen…I love the chocolate center scooped up with flaky pieces of phyllo! Yum! : )
Oh, Anne, this is FABULOUS! What an elegant dessert…..I’m blown away by this one! Buzzed, buzzed, buzzed!
Ann…you are wonderful! Thanks for the buzz! But I think my one and only top 9 appearance was a fluke of nature! ;- )
Oh, what a stunning presentation! I’m a huge fan of pears, too…and you’ve outdone yourself with this beautiful dessert~
Thanks so much Liz! I LOVE baking with pears! : )
(that’s me…at a loss for words)
Jeanne….YOU? I find that hard to believe!!! ;- O
I know, right?
You’re wrapped peaches are one of the most elegant desserts I’ve seen in a long, long time. I love the idea of serving the dish with the reduced poaching liquid, but I also love the thought of how the French Hound uses the Creme Anglais so I might have to try a combination of both!
Thanks so much! I guess you could do this with peaches…but I don’t know if I’d fill them with anything. They would be nice with creme anglaise and raspberries! : )
This is such an amazing dessert, I have salute you for making it, looks so fantastic.
Nava…thanks so much! Easier than it looks! : )
I love how elegant this looks…… like a proper dessert. It sounds amazing.
Thanks Susie….finally…I’ve made a proper dessert!! ;- )
Oh my goodness, that’s just stunning! Gorgeous dessert, so I’m totally loving that September’s fruit is pear
Well done
Thanks so much! (Pssst….I kind of claimed September is Pear month cuz I wanted to bake with pears!) ;- )
Anne, this is outstanding. This is the SUPERMODEL of pear desserts!
Hester….a pear shaped supermodel! I love it! Thanks! : )
Very interesting preparation
I thought so, too!
Anne… it’s just simply beautiful! I can see this being served at the most posh restaurant!! You have really out done yourself here. Wow! That first photograph could be in a food magazine.. kudos for the food styling too! Very chic indeed! Anne, you know I think you’re awesome and I think this dessert symbolizes you. It’s an elegant dessert that is sweet and just lovely inside and out. : )
Awwww…..Ramona….you are going to make me cry! You know that the feeling is more than mutual!!!!
what an outstanding recipe! I love pears, and stuffing them with that mixture and then wrapping them in filo not only makes a delicious dessert but a stunning presentation!
Why thank you Chef! A nice dessert to have say….after a beautiful bowl of luscious shrimp and crab chowder! ;- )
This looks so decadent, I love almond with chocolate and the pouches add such a great texture. Awesome recipe Anne!
Thanks Cassie! I know this may look fancy…but so simple to throw together! : )
omg…this looks so GORGEOUS! I am saving the recipe to try for my husband as he is a huge fan for pears and pastry.
Angie…thanks so much! I love recipes that look so elegant but are really so easy! I hope you and your husband will enjoy it! : )
Oh my… look at these delectables!! What a fabulous idea for a dessert Anne… I can only imagine how wonderful your home must smell when these pears are baking… you incorporate so many delicious and flavourful spices; absolutely wonderful! (love the name French Hound for a restaurant).
Thanks Kelly! The poaching liquid was the scent I enjoyed the most…..like a mulled wine!
Wow Anne!! You outdid yourself with this one! This looks absolutely fabulous and I want to come to your house for dessert! I am definitely bookmarking this one. It’s company worthy, too!
Dee…thanks so much! And I love that term…”company worthy”! And I would most certainly welcome you here anytime!!! : )
This is an amazing recipe! Thank you for sharing it.
Hi Brindusa! Thank you so much for your kind comments! : )
I don’t remember ever being close to Middleburg, but your pears look so elegant and bet delicious too. Love the phyllo coat
Hi Roxana! Well we are practically neighbors! Thanks for your lovely compliments! Don’t you just love phyllo and puff pastry?!! : )
When rustic meets elegant, true magic happens! This is such a great example of that!!!
Oh Tiffany…..thank you so much! You are so wonderful! : )
“There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Anne, I think you’ve extended that for these lucky pears!
Hi Mike! I was almost going to use that quote for this recipe….but I have so many pear recipes that I thought I’d save it for the next recipe. Drat! Now you beat me to it! :-0 xoxo
Looks wonderfull and I bet it taste delicios! Mmmmm! Pear and wine and chocolate…
Thanks Corina! Very delicios! ;- )
I’m not a big fan of pears and this had my mouth watering! Your pictures are simply gorgeous!
I’m not usually a big fan of pears, either. Unless they are baked! Thanks so much for your compliments! : )
These look divine! Simply elegance can be both stunning and delicious.
Thanks Elle! : )
Wonderful! I find myself wishing we could have some gloomy weather so I’d have an excuse to make this
Hope you try them….they are really so good! : )
I did them! They were amazing. Thanks for the recipe.
Brindusa! Yay! I am so glad you liked them! I hope you share them with everyone! They are so good. And thank you for coming back to tell me you tried them! That was so very thoughtful and I truly appreciate that! : )