Poached pear is perfect topped on brioche and drizzled with a silky vanilla crème anglaise.
Ingredients
- For the brioche
- 125g/5oz strong bread flour
- 1 tbsp
caster sugar - 1 tsp fresh
yeast - ¼ tsp
salt - 25ml/1fl oz
milk - 1 free-range
egg - 65g/2oz
butter, softened - 75g/2½oz white
marzipan
- For the pear
- 1
lemon - 4
pears, peeled, stem retained - 200g/7oz
caster sugar - 1
vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped
- 1
- For the crème anglaise
- 150ml/5fl oz
milk - 150ml/5fl oz
double cream - 1
vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped - 4 free-range
egg yolks - 40g/1½oz
caster sugar
- 150ml/5fl oz
Preparation method
For the brioche, place the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, milk and egg together in a bowl and beat for 3-4 minutes, or until well combined. Add the softened butter and beat until the mixture comes together to form a soft, smooth dough. Place the dough into a clean bowl and leave to rise in a warm, dry place for one hour.
Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a floured work surface for 1-2 minutes, then shape into four golf ball-sized balls. Place onto a baking parchment-lined baking tray.
Add the pears to the saucepan, plus 150g/5oz of the sugar, the vanilla pod and seeds. Add enough water to just cover the pears. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the pears are tender. Remove the pears from the liquid with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Allow to cool.
Place a pear on top of each brioche ball, pressing down slightly. Place into the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the brioche is golden-brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
Heat a frying pan until hot, add the remaining sugar and 50ml/2fl oz of water and cook until a light caramel forms. Drizzle the caramel over the pears.
For the crème anglaise, place the milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat.
Place the egg yolks and caster sugar into a bowl and whisk until pale and creamy. Pour a dash of the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk to combine, then slowly pour in the rest of the milk, whisking all the while. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Stirring frequently, cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture is just thickened (but not as thick as English custard).
To serve, place one pear brioche onto each serving plate and spoon the crème anglaise alongside.