Poached Pears

Bosc pears poached in Earl Grey tea and filled with honey sweetened mascarpone cheese. 

This recipe is simple to prepare but never fails to impress.  It's an elegant, light dessert with subtle citrus notes from the Bergamot in the Earl Grey tea and the orange peel infused into the poaching liquid.  I also added a tiny bit of heat with some crystallized ginger.

Gather together the following ingredients:

• 8 cups water
• 4 Earl Grey teabags
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 inch slice crystallized ginger
• peel of 1 orange, cut in strips
• 4 Bosc pears
• 1/4 cup chilled whipping cream
• 1/4 cup chilled mascarpone cheese
• 1 tablespoon honey

First, bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. 

Add the tea bags, brown sugar, ginger, and orange peel to the water, and remove from the heat. 

Stir to dissolve the sugar, and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes. 

Remove tea bags, and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. 

Use a paring knife to remove the peel from the pears.  In order to cut out the core, use a small melon-baller to scoop it out from the bottom.

Add pears to the poaching liquid and reduce heat to a gentle simmer.

Cover pears with the parchment-paper circle to help keep them submerged. Cook until just tender, about 10 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove pears from the saucepan to a serving dish, and let them cool to room temperature. 

Strain the cooking liquid, and return it to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes.

To make the filling, simply mix the cream and mascarpone cheese together with the honey in a small bowl.

Use a piping bag to fill each pear from the bottom with creamy mascarpone mixture. 

Just before serving, spoon some of the reduced poaching liquid over each pear.