Roasted Pears with Lemon Cream & Maple Caramel Syrup
A show stopper dessert – and all the components can be made ahead!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour but there is an 8 hour chill for some components
- Total Time: working time is about 1 1/2 hours
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Desserts Fruit
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup lemon curd (See recipe or use a jarred variety)
- 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup whipping cream, chilled
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 of a lemon
- 8 medium Bosc pears
- 1 1/2 cups apple juice
- 2/3 cup maple syrup or sorghum syrup
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 whole cloves
- Pinch salt
- Garnish with Almond Praline
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Squeeze lemon into a large bowl half full of cool water. Peel pears, leaving stems, and cut a thin slice off bottoms. (Submerge pears upright in water as you work.)
In a saucepan, combine apple juice, maple syrup or sorghum, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until butter melts and sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
Pat pears dry and arrange upright in a 3-quart baking dish. Pour syrup over pears. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes or until tender (a knife should go in with little resistance) and beginning to brown, basting with syrup occasionally. (If syrup thickens too much, add water to pan.)
If not serving immediately, pears can sit at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 hours. Rewarm slightly before serving.
To Serve and Garnish:
To serve, arrange pears on dessert plates or a rimmed platter. Drizzle with the remaining syrup and allow to pool, or drizzle with part of the syrup and pass the rest. Dollop Lemon Cream around pears. (Gently stir first if necessary.) Sprinkle with Almond Praline. If desired, pass the remaining syrup, cream, and nuts.