Skip to main content

Baked Pears with Sauternes Custard Sauce

4.1

(8)

Image may contain Plant Fruit Food and Pear
Baked Pears with Sauternes Custard Sauce

Poires au Four avec Sabayon de Sauternes

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Cooks' note:

• Pears may be baked 1 day ahead, cooled, then chilled, covered. Reheat in cooking liquid, covered, in a 350°F oven until heated through, about 15 minutes, before making sauce.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

8 firm-ripe Bartlett pears
1/2 cup raisins, chopped
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Sauternes or other white dessert wine
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Accompaniment: Madeleines

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 375°F.

    Step 2

    Peel pears, leaving stems intact, then core from bottom using a melon-ball cutter or a sharp small knife. Stir together raisins, brown sugar, zests, and 2 tablespoons Sauternes and fill pear cavities with mixture. Stand pears upright in a buttered baking dish just large enough to hold them and pour remaining cup Sauternes over pears.

    Step 3

    Cover dish tightly with foil and bake in middle of oven until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer pears to a serving dish or plates using a metal spatula to hold filling in place and pour cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl.

    Step 4

    Whisk together yolks and granulated sugar in a large metal bowl and add hot cooking liquid in a stream, whisking constantly. Put bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and vigorously whisk, or beat with a handheld electric mixer, until mixture is tripled in volume and registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes.

    Step 5

    Serve pears warm with sauce.

Read More
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Keep this easy frittata recipe on hand for quick breakfasts, impressive brunches, and fridge clean-out meals.
This one-pot dinner cooks chicken thighs directly on top of a bed of flavorful cilantro rice studded with black beans for a complete dinner.
Put that half-full tub to use with recipes that go beyond the Italian American classics.
Like Sri Lankan cashew curry and vegan stuffed shells.
Glossy, intensely chocolaty, and spiked with coffee and sour cream, this Bundt is the ultimate all-purpose dessert.
Filberts, goobers, scaly bark nuts: Explore the world beyond almonds in this guide.
Use this simple vinaigrette to dress a plate of greens, some steamed potatoes, or anything else that strikes your fancy.