Wine for dessert? Yes please. We love a good wine to accompany dinner, but there is something special about incorporating the wine into the dish itself and that most definitely includes dessert. We wanted to keep things seasonal, but interesting, so we went with a pear based dessert and grabbed Traynor’s Cabernet Franc.
Don’t let the looks of this dish fool you. Is it visually stunning? Yes. Is it time consuming and hard to create? No. You can prep everything before dinner and add the finishing touches right before serving your guests. All you need is a little curiosity in the kitchen and the following ingredients:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of red wine — we used Traynor’s Cabernet Franc since it paired well with the meal we had before dessert, that way not a drop went to waste!
- 4 Bosc pears
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/4 cup of local honey — we love Randee’s Bees in Prince Edward County
- 1/3 cup of mascarpone cheese
- 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste
We may or may not pour ourselves a glass of wine while prepping all of the ingredients, just make sure there is enough wine left to poach the pears!
Directions:
Step 1: Peel the pears, halve them lengthwise and then core them.
Step 2: Zest the lemon and then cut it in half — you’ll need this later.
Step 3: In a saucepan combine the wine, sugar, honey, lemon zest and two big squeezes of lemon juice.
Step 4: Bring ingredients to a simmer and continuously stir until the sugar has dissolved and the flavours have melded together.
Step 5: After about five minutes it is time to add the pears. Submerge them in the liquid. Cover and poach them for approximately 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5. You will know they are ready when they get tender.
Step 6: While you poach the pears grab a small bowl and stir together the mascarpone, vanilla bean paste and a teaspoon of sugar. Put the mixture into the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Step 7: Once the pears are tender remove them from the pot and place them into bowls, leaving the poaching liquid in the pot.
Step 8: Increase the heat under the pot and simmer the poaching liquid until it thickens. This should take about 8 minutes.
Step 9: Spoon the liquid over your pears and then add a dollop of the vanilla bean mascarpone mixture.
Step 10: Take a quick snap of your creation before you and your guests devour it!
Don’t shy away from using wine in your cooking and create something you’ve never tried before — it may surprise you! Traynor's Cabernet Franc was the perfect wine for this dessert since it isn’t sweet and slightly dry, so the flavours of the dish didn’t end up competing with each other.
Have you cooked with your wine before? We can’t wait to see your take on this recipe — be sure to tag us @traynorvineyard so we can share.
