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Chai Spiced Poached Pears

Recipe Level: Easy

Poached pears are a sophisticated dessert yet simple to make. These pears are poached in chai tea and honey for a natural sweetness and topped with hazelnuts and cream.

Baked by Alie Romano

Professional Baker and Recipe Developer

* Make sure to read the entire article. Every step matters, and I’ll provide helpful tips along the way!

Chai Spiced Poached Pears

The overlooked pear!

Pear season is here my friends! I encourage you to break out of the ordinary and try baking something a little different than your typical apple dish. Don’t get me wrong, I love apples and making desserts with them, they just seem to get all of the attention in fall.

Call me crazy, but I think the pear is a sexy fruit! Hear me out, you will always see pears featured in still photography and paintings with moody lighting, rich and filled with texture. The pear can hold its own in the world of art, but for some reason I find they get lost compared to the excitement of fall apples.

I was recently at the farmer’s market and bought a basketful of Anjou pears, because, well they just looked so pretty and I don’t bake often with pears. It would be a fun challenge to try something different and to explore a new palette. I like the idea of trying desserts that my guests may not always have, they can explore new tastes and flavours.

Poached pears are a sophisticated looking dessert  (I think it’s because of that ‘sexy’ fruit thing I was talking about) but don’t let its looks fool you. They are very simple to make and can be as fancy or as plain as you like. These chai spiced poached pears I made are soaked in chai tea and honey. Once the pears are done I let the tea mixture boil down to a syrup, that I later drizzled on top with a dollop of fresh cream and toasted hazelnuts. It’s an easy dessert, not overly sweet (no sugar added) with a touch of spice. All you need is time while your pears poach and your liquid boils down. You can work away on preparing your meal while all of this happens.

Poached Pear Ideas:

  • Drizzle with salted caramel and serve with ice-cream
  • Dip in melted chocolate   
  • Poach pears in red wine and add cinnamon and cream
  • Serve with shaved almond, honey and greek yogurt
Chai Spiced Poached Pears
Chai Spiced Poached Pears
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Chai Spiced Poached Pears

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Poached pears are a sophisticated dessert yet simple to make. These pears are poached in chai tea and honey for a natural sweetness and topped with hazelnuts and cream.

  • Author: Alie Romano
  • Prep Time: 12 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 45 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 57 mins
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: French

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 Bosa or Anjou pears
  • 4 1/2 cups boiling water
  • 6 chai tea bags (I used Tetley vanilla chai)
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts roughly chopped
  • 1 cup whipping cream (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large pot bring water to a boil and then turn heat off. Add tea bags and let brew for 8 – 10 minutes. Remove tea bags and discard. Add honey and stir.
  2. Re-boil tea infused water. Meanwhile peel pears leaving a little skin at the top and keeping the stem attached to the pear. If your pear doesn’t stand easily, cut the bottom flat so it will stand pretty and tall on your serving plate.
  3. Add peeled pears to boiling tea/water, reduce heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Gently rotate pears (pears will be soft – you don’t want to puncture the skin) and continue to simmer another 15 minutes. For a stronger spice flavour leave pears soaking for 1 hour with the heat off.
  4. Remove pears and place in a dish.
  5. To make syrup, lightly boil liquid until thickened and reduced to about 1/3 – 1/4 cup, stirring occasionally. There is a lot of liquid so this will take anywhere from 35 – 45 minutes.
  6. When syrup is ready, pour over individual pears, add a dollop of whipping cream and toasted hazelnuts.
  7. Enjoy.

Notes

You can slice pears in half to have smaller portions and make 8 servings.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Pear
  • Calories: 254
  • Sugar: 24.9g
  • Sodium: 21mg
  • Fat: 12.4g
  • Saturated Fat: 6g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 0
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 37.8g
  • Fiber: 6.9g
  • Protein: 2.1g
  • Cholesterol: 33mg

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I can’t wait to see what you’ve made! xo alie

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Alie Romano

Meet

Alie

I'm a professional baker, recipe developer & photographer behind Baking For Friends. I specialize in classic & comforting baking. I hope you enjoy the recipes & find inspiration of your own to bring your family & friends together over home-cooked food!

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