Try this Apple Cider Poached Pears in Puff Pastry recipe
- Carbohydrate 84.9429800472306 g
- Cholesterol 76.8937500471936 mg
- Fat 25.2494206372275 g
- Fiber 0.851649997472763 g
- Protein 1.34598187564525 g
- Saturated Fat 15.511177945182 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (479g)
- Sodium 53.6400000243756 mg
- Sugar 84.0913300497578 g
- Trans Fat 1.79727043801229 g
- Calories 558 calories
Step-by-step
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the apple cider, water, and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil.
- As the cider mixture comes to a boil, peel your pears and cut off the bottom of the pear to form a flat surface. Place pears standing upright in the boiling cider mixture. Turn heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 15-30 minutes or until the pears are tender. This will depend on the size and ripeness of your pears.
- When the pears are soft, remove them from the pot and allow them to cool slightly. Discard cinnamon sticks from saucepan. Remove all except 1 cup of liquid from the saucepan. Add brown sugar, heavy cream, and butter to the poaching liquid and let simmer uncovered for about 7-10 minutes on low heat while you bake the pears. It should turn into a slightly thickened, light caramel-colored sauce. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Stir together cinnamon and sugar. Set aside. Cut puff pastry in ¼" strips. Place pears on a parchment lined baking sheet. Wrap cooled pears with puff pastry starting at the bottom and working your way around the pear and upwards. When you come to the end of a pastry strip, brush it lightly with water and press to adhere to the next pastry strip. Continue wrapping until you reach the top of the pear. Tuck the end of the last pastry piece behind the previous dough spiral. Repeat to cover the other pear. Brush lightly with water or milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden brown.
- Serve immediately with apple cider caramel and ice cream.
When are the pears actually done poaching? Pears require careful monitoring during the simmer phase, because an underripe fruit will resist a paring knife while an overripe specimen collapses into mush. Submerge the peeled fruit in the boiling cider and water mixture, cover the saucepan, and drop the heat to low. After fifteen minutes, pierce the thickest part of the base with the tip of a sharp knife; the steel should slide through the flesh with almost zero resistance, similar to poking softened butter. If the center remains firm, return the fruit to the liquid for five-minute increments.
Selecting firm, underripe fruit such as Comice or Bosc is mandatory for structural integrity. Ripe pears contain excess moisture and internal bruising that will leak into the puff pastry during the twenty-minute bake, preventing the dough from achieving its characteristic flaky layers. Peeling the fruit entirely and slicing the bottom flat ensures the pears stand upright on the parchment-lined baking sheet without tipping over under the weight of the dough spirals.
Reducing the leftover poaching liquid alongside heavy cream, brown sugar, and unsalted butter transforms the cider into a rich caramel sauce. Maintain a low simmer uncovered for seven to ten minutes, watching the surface bubbles closely; large, slow-popping bubbles indicate excess water is evaporating, while foaming edges signal the dairy proteins are nearing the scorching point. Pull the saucepan from the heat immediately when the liquid thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon cleanly.
Wrapping the cooled fruit in quarter-inch pastry strips requires tension to secure the dough spiral without tearing the fragile butter layers. Overlapping each strip slightly prevents gaping holes from forming as the pastry expands in the oven. Brushing the assembled pastry with water helps the cinnamon-sugar coating adhere evenly before baking at standard oven temperatures until the exterior turns deep golden brown.
