Spiced Pears With Chocolate Mascarpone
Wonderfully spiced pears with creamy chocolate-cheese filling.
Steps
To make the spiced pears: in a large non-aluminum saucepan combine the wine , sugar , vanilla bean , lemon zest and orange peels.
Tie the cloves , bay leaves , peppercorns and thyme in a piece of cheesecloth.
Add to the pan with nutmeg , mace , cardamom and cinnamon stick.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
Peel pears and cut in half length-wise.
Add the pears to the liquid , cover and reduce heat to medium-low.
Gently cook about 5 to 15 minutes , or until almost tender.
Remove from the heat and let sit covered 5 minutes.
Remove the pears from the syrup and allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
Chill the syrup on ice.
When completely cooled , add the pears , cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
To make the chocolate mascarpone: melt chocolate in microwave or in top of double-boiler over boiling water.
Cool slightly.
Whip the mascarpone with the powdered sugar until smooth.
Add the melted chocolate and rum , whisking.
Ingredients
riesling wine, sugar, vanilla bean, lemon, zest of, orange rind, cloves, bay leaves, peppercorn, fresh thyme, ground nutmeg, ground mace, ground cardamom, cinnamon stick, bartlett pears, bittersweet chocolate, mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, dark rum, butter, walnuts, biscotti