Honey-Spice Poached Pears in Almond Pudding

I am a sucker for anything light and creamy and sweet of course. I asked my husband to pick up some fruit from the store one day and he came home with a sack full of pears. I’m typically more of a strawberry, grapes & kiwi type of girl, but my honey was onto something when he switched it up.

POACHED PEARS

What you need:

• 4 pears
• 4 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

What you do:

• Peel the pears and cut in half (try to leave the stems in tact)
• Core the pears with a melon baller or a spoon (the melon baller will give you a perfect hole)
• Add your water, brown sugar and honey to a large saucepan and let simmer until the sugar and honey dissolves
• Stir in your spices and almond extract
• Add your pears in with the inside facing up (I pushed them down so the liquid would fill the inside and help keep the pears from floating to the top)
• Cover the pears and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until you can poke the pears easily with a fork (be careful not to let the pears get too soft…we don’t want mush)
• Remove the pears and the juices and put them in a covered dish to steep

You can eat the pears once they cool but I decided to steep them in the fridge over night for more flavor

HONEY & SPICE SAUCE

What you need:

• Your remaining juices from your poached pears

What you do:

• Pour the juices into a saucepan and bring to a boil
• Turn down to medium-high heat and cook until the juices reduce and thicken

ALMOND PUDDING

This recipe is actually an adaptation of my mom and grandmother’s banana pudding recipe.

What you need:

• 4 tbsp flour
• 3/4 cup of sugar (the recipe calls for 1 full cup but I like my pudding a little less sweet)
• Pinch of salt
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 cups of milk
• 1 tsp almond extract

What you do: 

• Mix your dry ingredients together in a saucepan
• Mix your yolks and milk in a bowl
• Add your egg mixture to the saucepan
• Cook on low to medium, stirring occasionally, until your mixture starts to thicken
• Make sure to stir to keep it smooth…nobody likes lumpy pudding
• Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in your extract

This recipe might seem like a bit much because of all the pieces and steps, but it is really very easy and equally delicious. Enjoy!

With lots of love from my heart to your belly!

-RC