Home Reviews Recipe Ginger-poached Williams pear, warm gingerbread, double ginger ice cream and an orange syrup

Ginger-poached Williams pear, warm gingerbread, double ginger ice cream and an orange syrup

Ginger-poached Williams pear, warm gingerbread, double ginger ice cream and an orange syrup

Serves 4

Pears

4 ripe Williams pears

450g sugar

450ml water (or white wine, or a mix)

1 lemon, sliced 3 balls of stem ginger, chopped

Method: Bring sugar and wine/water to boil and simmer together with lemon slices and stem ginger. Peel and core the pears and place in the syrup. Cover pears with greaseproof paper and simmer gently until slightly soft. Turn off heat and allow to cool.

 

Gingerbreads

125g butter

140g soft brown sugar

90g treacle

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cinnamon

2 eggs

140g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50ml milk

50ml cream

Equipment: 10-12 dariole moulds, (6cm diameter, 3½ cm deep) buttered and floured and with a disc of greaseproof paper in the bottom.

Method: Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Melt butter, sugar, treacle, ginger and cinnamon in a pan. Add the warm melted mixture to the eggs, beating together, then mix in remaining ingredients. Pour the mixture into the lined moulds and bake in oven for 10-15 minutes.

Orange syrup

900ml fresh orange juice

350g sugar

Method: Place juice and sugar in a pan and reduce slowly until you achieve a syrupy consistency.

 

Double ginger ice cream

500 ml milk

500 ml cream

11 egg yolks

225g sugar

100g chopped stem ginger

100g ginger syrup (from the stem ginger jar)

Method: Warm cream and milk together. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and gently pour liquid over the bowl contents, mix and cook gently. Pour bowl contents through a sieve, add the stem ginger and ginger syrup and churn the liquid in an ice cream machine.

To serve: For each portion, warm an individual gingerbread. Take a thin slice off the bottom of a pear and slice pear horizontally restacking the slices in a pear shape. Place on a plate with the gingerbread and a scoop of ice cream, placed on the slice taken off the pear bottom. Spoon a little poaching juice over the pear. Serve orange syrup chilled in a shot glass (or alternatively drizzle around plate).