Crunchy Coated Baked Pears with Peanut Brittle
Every now and then, I like to find an occasion (or make one up!) where I can make an extra special dessert. There's something about taking your time over it, making sure everything is perfect and then presenting it with a bit more flair than merely spooning out some crumble or slicing up a cake - not that I don't like doing that too!
This dessert is a more than a little bit special. It's incredibly British, using pears and cornflakes as two of its main ingredients, and it's incredibly delicious. I can't take full credit for the recipe as it is actually adapted from British chef, and a hero of mine, Tom Kerridge's book but that also means that I won't be blowing my own trumpet too much when I say it's BLOOMIN' GORGEOUS!
Crunchy Coated Baked Pears with Peanut Brittle
Serves 4
4 pears
100g butter, softened
75g caster sugar
1 tsp ground allspice
1 lemon
For the peanut brittle:
300g caster sugar
150g toasted peanuts
For the crunchy coating:
180g cornflakes
140g butter, melted
50g demerara sugar
50g milk powder
pinch of salt
For the toffee sauce:
175g demerara sugar
170g butter, cubed
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp black treacle
500ml double cream
pinch of salt
To serve:
crème fraîche
To make the peanut brittle, line a baking tray with parchment paper and leave to one side. Put the caster sugar in a large frying pan over a high heat. Allow it to melt in the pan, without stirring, bring it to the boil and once it is a dark golden brown, stir in the peanuts and immediately pour the mix onto the lined baking tray. Leave to cool and become crisp.
To make the crunchy coating, preheat the oven to 140C/Gas Mark 1 and line another baking tray with baking parchment. Mix the cornflakes, melted butter, demerara sugar, milk powder and salt together in a large bowl, then spread the mix out on the baking tray. Place the tray into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so so it colours evenly, until crunchy and toasted. Set to one side and leave to cool.
Turn the oven up to 190C/Gas Mark 5. Peel the pears and rub the down with a clean green scouring pad to make them very smooth and remove any peeler marks. Place the pears upright in an ovenproof dish. Mix the butter, caster sugar and allspice together and spread evenly over the pears. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until they are just tender. Take the dish out of the oven and immediately grate the lemon zest over the pears and then squeeze over the juice.
Meanwhile, crush equal parts of the peanut brittle and crunchy coating mixture together to make a 'crumble' and set aside until needed. For the toffee sauce, put all the ingredients into a saucepan, except the double cream, and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and allow the sauce to reach a golden caramel colour. Pour in the cream to stop the cooking, take off the heat and set aside.
Place a pear on each serving plate, pour over a generous amount of the toffee sauce and sprinkle over a good handful of the 'crumble', top with a dollop of crème fraîche and serve.
This dessert is a more than a little bit special. It's incredibly British, using pears and cornflakes as two of its main ingredients, and it's incredibly delicious. I can't take full credit for the recipe as it is actually adapted from British chef, and a hero of mine, Tom Kerridge's book but that also means that I won't be blowing my own trumpet too much when I say it's BLOOMIN' GORGEOUS!
Crunchy Coated Baked Pears with Peanut Brittle
Serves 4
4 pears
100g butter, softened75g caster sugar
1 tsp ground allspice
1 lemon
For the peanut brittle:
300g caster sugar
150g toasted peanuts
For the crunchy coating:
180g cornflakes
140g butter, melted
50g demerara sugar
50g milk powder
pinch of salt
For the toffee sauce:
175g demerara sugar
170g butter, cubed
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp black treacle
500ml double cream
pinch of salt
To serve:
crème fraîche
To make the peanut brittle, line a baking tray with parchment paper and leave to one side. Put the caster sugar in a large frying pan over a high heat. Allow it to melt in the pan, without stirring, bring it to the boil and once it is a dark golden brown, stir in the peanuts and immediately pour the mix onto the lined baking tray. Leave to cool and become crisp.
To make the crunchy coating, preheat the oven to 140C/Gas Mark 1 and line another baking tray with baking parchment. Mix the cornflakes, melted butter, demerara sugar, milk powder and salt together in a large bowl, then spread the mix out on the baking tray. Place the tray into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so so it colours evenly, until crunchy and toasted. Set to one side and leave to cool.
Turn the oven up to 190C/Gas Mark 5. Peel the pears and rub the down with a clean green scouring pad to make them very smooth and remove any peeler marks. Place the pears upright in an ovenproof dish. Mix the butter, caster sugar and allspice together and spread evenly over the pears. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until they are just tender. Take the dish out of the oven and immediately grate the lemon zest over the pears and then squeeze over the juice.
Meanwhile, crush equal parts of the peanut brittle and crunchy coating mixture together to make a 'crumble' and set aside until needed. For the toffee sauce, put all the ingredients into a saucepan, except the double cream, and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and allow the sauce to reach a golden caramel colour. Pour in the cream to stop the cooking, take off the heat and set aside.
Place a pear on each serving plate, pour over a generous amount of the toffee sauce and sprinkle over a good handful of the 'crumble', top with a dollop of crème fraîche and serve.
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