Easy Poached Pears with Bloody Red Velvet Sauce
This recipe for easy poached pears shows just how simple it can be! Serve them as a finish to a nice dinner, at a dinner party with your friends, or with a spooky Halloween themed meal.
Poached pears has always been one of those impossibly decadent and lavish desserts. Too fancy for me to cook in my little plebeian kitchen. Right? Wrong.
These easy poached pears are, well, easy! No really. Peel them and keep the stems attached, boil them in a sugar solution, chill, and top with a rich, velvety sauce. And that’s it. If you’ve baked cookies or a cake you’ve already conquered a much more difficult task.
So these pears can be made for any occasion. Because of red velvet’s bloody appearance, I’ve chosen to make these for a chic Halloween themed dinner party.
Pro tip: make them ahead of time and store in the fridge. All you have to do is gently reheat the chocolate sauce in the microwave before serving.
Using Chocolate Chips vs Baking Chocolate
Leave the chocolate chips for the cookies.
You might notice when you pull a fresh batch of cookies straight out of the oven that they are smooth and melty, yet contain their shape. This is because most chocolate chips contain a stabilizer. When you want a super smooth sauce or ganache, I recommend using baking chocolate or wafers. No waxy finish, just a smooth and shiny sauce!
These pears make an effortlessly elegant dessert. Pull them out to give your guests the perfect end to the perfect meal – one that’s cooked by you!
And if you’re looking for more spooky and spectacular Halloween dishes, check out this list here (coming soon!)!
Until next time. X
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Easy Poached Pears with Red Velvet Sauce
Easy Poached Pears with Bloody Red Velvet Sauce
This recipe for poached pears shows just how easy it can be! Serve them as a finish to a nice dinner, at a dinner party with your friends, or with a spooky Halloween themed meal.
- Total Time: 4 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 pears 1x
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tsp vanilla
- 4 Bartlett pears, peeled with stems attached
- 4 oz chocolate, shaved or chopped finely
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tsp red food color
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Bring the water, sugar and vanilla to a simmer, stirring occasionally so the sugar dissolves.
- Gently add the pears to the water and put a piece of parchment paper over them to keep them submerged.
- Simmer 20-25 minutes, or until you can pierce the flesh easily with a knife.
- Remove from heat and let cool before transferring to the fridge to chill for a minimum of 4 hours to overnight.
- To make the sauce, in a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream, red food color and vanilla until it starts to steam.
- Add the chocolate shavings and let sit for a minute to melt.
- Stir gently until just combined. Overmixing may cause the chocolate to seize.
- To serve, remove the pears from the syrup and stand them up on a plate.
- Pour a generous helping of red velvet sauce on top. (Optional) Use a condiment bottle for a controlled pour.
Notes
tools
- large pot
- parchment paper
- small saucepan
- condiment bottle (optional)
If you want a stronger red color, add 1/2 tsp at a time. Be careful though, this stuff stains very easily!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: French/American
- Diet: Vegetarian